September was a mixed month for American air cargo carriers, with American Airlines and United Airlines recording demand increases while Delta and LATAM saw volumes slide.
The airline that recorded the largest year-on-year increase in demand during the month was American which saw cargo volumes increase by 2.7% on last year to 188m cargo ton miles (CTM).
United, the busiest of the three US airlines, also recorded an increase as its September volumes crept up by 1.9% on a year earlier to 212m CTM.
In contrast, the worst performing of the carriers was Delta which recorded a 12.5% decline to 182m CTM. The traffic declines it has experienced this year in combination with the growth of American means it is now the third largest of the three US legacy carriers.
Volumes at all three of the carriers are behind August as demand growth tends to stagnate in September ahead of the peak season in October and November.
Data source: companies. Graphic source: Air Cargo News
It was also a tough month for the LATAM Group (see tables below) which saw demand slide by 12.5% to 306m revenue tonne km on the back of weakened economic conditions and freighter capacity reductions.
“Cargo traffic continues to be weak during the month of September, especially in Brazil domestic and international markets,” it said.
“As a result, cargo traffic for LATAM Airlines Group decreased 12.5% in September, and the cargo load factor decreased 6.6 points to 52.8%.
“We continue to adjust cargo capacity through a reduced freighter operation, which resulted in a decline of 1.7% of cargo available tonne kms in September."
European airlines also reported volume declines in September.
Data source: companies. Graphic source: Air Cargo News
Data source: companies. Graphic source: Air Cargo News
Data source: companies. Graphic source: Air Cargo News
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