IATA: Cargo recovery falters in September

Air cargo continues to hit walls in its overall market recovery as global volumes in September remained depressed year over year, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). September industrywide traffic, reported in cargo tonne kilometers (CTKs), hit 20.33 billion, a 10.6% decrease YoY and 3.9% lower than September 2019. High inflation levels have negatively impacted the global flow of goods as well as the increasing fear of an economic recession. Available cargo tonne kilometers (ACTKs) continued positive growth trends, rising 2.4% YoY, but 3.9 percentage points lower and 1.2 percentage points lower than July’s growth . See also: New heights: 2022s evasive winter peak The decline in ACTKs reflects industry response to growing capacity to normalize load factors, IATA claimed. The war in Ukraine and closure of Russian airspace are also decreasing available cargo capacity. The industry average cargo load factor (CLF) grew 1.4 percentage points between August and September to 48.1%, a 1.9% increase compared with September 2019. Seasonally adjusted air cargo demand declined 1.5%, IATA reported. As market capacity returns, bordering on over-supply , airlines are seeing lower load factors as volumes return to sea. “Most of the uptake in trade since this year has benefited maritime, which has been growing in line with the global trade,” according to IATA. Asia-Pacific Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region saw month-over-month decreases in volumetric growth, with an 8.7% YoY drop in August and a 9.3% YoY decline in September. Additional passenger capacity continues to boost the region’s recovery, and the load factor improved 2.5 percentage points YoY to 57.2%. Latin America Latin American airlines have continued to lead in performance, with international CTKs growing 13.2% YoY with added capacity for perishables season. IATA tied the region’s growth to “the significant role air cargo plays in supporting economic activity in the region,” according to the report. The region’s CLF demonstrates increased capacity, dropping 0.7 percentage points YoY to 38.1%. North America Airlines in North America stumbled in their international CTKs in September, with 6.2% less volumes compared with 2021. In August, airlines had improved to 4.8% lower than 2021 levels. The region’s CLF was also lower, at 39.6%, around 1 percentage point less than 2021. See also: Trans-Atlantic trends toward pre-pandemic movements Europe, Middle East, Africa Airlines in Europe saw total and international CTKs drop 15.6% YoY, tied to decreased intra-Europe flights. ACTKs improved 0.2% YoY and are on the rise at 2.6% year to date, but still down 18.5% compared with September 2019. Airlines in the Middle East saw similar declines, with international CTKs dropping 15.7%, which IATA connected to labor shortages and high inflation levels, particularly in Turkey. Total market capacity in the region declined 2.8% YoY, as well, remaining 6.7% lower than 2019 levels. African airlines had the greatest load factor growth, increasing 3.1 percentage points from August to 45.1% in September. CTKs in Africa remained about the same, with a 0.1% growth YoY, but a notable decline from August’s 2% YoY increase. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, international CTKs grew 17.8% in September and 14.2% year-to-date. Join Air Cargo World for our next webinar, “Dangerous goods in focus: Shoring up air cargo logistics,” on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to register.

IATA: Cargo recovery falters in September

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