Air cargo demand continued to soar in July with the latest IATA statistics showing a year-on-year increase of 13.6% on the back of issues on the ocean and the continued e-commerce boom.
The airline association said that cargo tonne kms had now registered a double-digit percentage increase for eight months in a row, with overall levels reaching heights not see since the Covid-fuelled surge of 2021.
Meanwhile, capacity in July increased at the lower level of 8.3% on last year helping to push load factors up by 2.1 percentage points to 44.4%.
IATA said the capacity increase was led by a 12.8% improvement in international bellyhold capacity and a 6.9% growth in international freighter capacity.
The association's director general Willie Walsh said: "Air cargo demand hit record highs year-to-date in July with strong growth across all regions. The air cargo business continues to benefit from growth in global trade, booming e-commerce and capacity constraints on maritime shipping.
"With the peak season still to come, it is shaping to be a very strong year for air cargo. And airlines have proven adept at navigating political and economic uncertainties to flexibly meet emerging demand trends.”
Looking at market indicators, IATA said the Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) for global manufacturing output indicated expansion at 50.2, but the export orders index stood at 49.4.
"Inflation remained relatively stable in July in the US, Japan, and the EU, with inflation rates of 2.9%, 2.8%, and 2.8%, respectively," IATA said. "Meanwhile, China’s inflation rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 0.6%, the highest level in five months."
Regional Performance
On a regional basis, Asia Pacific airlines registered the biggest year-on-year demand increase of any region at 17.6%.
The within-Asia trade lane grew by 19.8% year-on-year, while the Europe-Asia, Middle East-Asia, and Asia-Africa trade lanes rose by 17.9%, 15.9% and 15.4% respectively, IATA said.
North American carriers saw 8.7% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in July.
"Growth was hampered in part by flight cancelations and airport closures in the US and the Caribbean in relation to Hurricane Beryl," the airline association added. "Demand on the Asia-North America trade lane, the largest trade lane by volume, grew by 10.8% year-on-year, while the North America-Europe route saw a modest increase of 5.3%."
Carriers based out of Europe registered a 3.7% year-on-year increase in demand in July led by the Middle East-Europe trade at 32.2%, while Europe-Asia improved 17.9% and intra-Europe was 15.5%.
Middle Eastern carriers saw 14.7% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in July as volumes to Europe surged.
Latin American carriers registered an 11.1% demand increase despite flights being restricted by Hurricane Beryl.
Finally, African airlines saw 6.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in July, with demand on the Africa–Asia market increasing by 15.4%.
https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/shippers-urged-to-plan-for-peak-as-air-cargo-overheats/
