US air trade ends 2020 on a high

In 2020, Both US air exports and imports ended on a high, growing 3% and 4%, respectively, compared to December 2019. Following a trough between April and July, both exports and imports were showing clear signs of improvement. All up, however, airfreight exports were down 13% and imports were down 2% (or down 6% when excluding PPE and other COVID-19 related commodities.

2020 was obviously a terrible year, but it is worth noting that US air cargo performance has been mixed over the last years. 2019 - thanks to ongoing trade disputes and overall economic weakness - was not a great year either. 2017 and 2018, on the other hand showed strong tonnage growth, as shown in the chart below. Note this excludes international express traffic, which is not properly captured in US trade data.

There were some significant difference in performance across markets. Transatlantic air trade and air trade with Africa took a big hit, which imports from Asia were up, particularly with China and South Korea.

Much of the import growth from Asia was driven by PPE, but computers and accessories, office equipment and medical equipment did well. Automotive exports to Asia, particularly China, performed very well. Apparell and footwear exports did well, but only because these include PPE. Without PPE, this segment would have declined by 30% in 2020. Semiconductors and equipment have also been extremely strong across multiple markets. In the last quarter we witnessed an acceleration of growth across multiple product groups. This includes exports of automotive, food, beauty products, household goods, and semiconductors, and imports of industrial equipment and parts, seafood, and computers, among others.

The interactive dashboard below shows commodity level performance for 2020 and the last quarter (Oct - Dec 2020) by product group for all trading partners. It's viewed best on a computer in full screen mode.

US air trade ends 2020 on a high

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