American carriers find slight reprieve in November traffic

Americas-based carriers Delta Air Lines and LATAM Cargo reported mixed results for November traffic. Traffic for both carriers was weak, though unsurprising given the lackluster year for cargo.

For November 2019, Delta saw a year-over-year decline in traffic, as measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), while LATAM saw a slight increase compared to the same period the year prior. Both carriers saw improvement month-over-month, though this reprieve is likely tied to seasonal uptick in consumer shopping habits. The coming months will demonstrate how successfully the carriers have implemented strategies to grow business despite U.S.- China trade tensions and uncertainty in South American politics continuing into the new year.

Turning to the individual carrier results:

Delta Cargo reported November cargo traffic down 4.1% y-o-y for the month, to about 231 million FTKs. Year-to-date, Delta’s cargo traffic is down by 8.5%.

LATAM Cargo reported November traffic up 2.9% year-over-year to 321 million FTKs. Year-to-date, FTKs remain slightly behind 2018 (down 1.4%) to 3.3 billion FTKs.