Air cargo demand remains strong to start the second quarter, with total demand rising at a double-digit pace for the fifth straight month.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total demand increased by 11.1 percent compared to the year prior, with airlines recording 21.7 billion cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) worldwide.
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“While many economic uncertainties remain, it appears that the roots of air cargo’s strong performance are deepening,” said Willie Walsh, director general, IATA, in a statement. “In recent months, air cargo demand grew even when the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was indicating the potential for contraction. With the PMI now indicating growth, the prospects for continued strong demand are even more robust.”
On a month-over-month basis, the demand cut back 6.5 percent from March. Seasonally adjusted demand grew 0.2 percent.
The largest contributors to the April traffic performance were carriers from Asia Pacific and Europe, which together contributed two-thirds to the annual increase. The two regions saw annual growth rates in international CTKs of 13.8 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively.
Traffic on international routes, which grew by 11.6 percent year over year in April, was “likely supported by booming e-commerce and capacity constraints in global maritime shipping,” the report said.
The IATA is likely referring to the continued expansion of online retail giants like Shein and Temu, which both ship goods directly from China directly to U.S. shoppers—resulting in more individual packages transported via air.
And as the ongoing assault on commercial vessels in the Red Sea lingered through the second quarter, Maersk estimated that the wider container shipping industry is seeing a 15 to 20 percent ocean capacity crunch on the Far East to North Europe and Mediterranean trade lanes due to lengthier route taken around southern Africa. This has likely forced many shippers on the Asia-to-Europe trade lane to consider the air freight alternative.
On the other hand, air freight capacity is still ticking up from last year. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 7.1 percent compared to April 2023, and 0.9 percent above March 2024 figures. Year-to-date annual ACTK growth is even higher at 10.3 percent, showing the strength of the capacity increases over the full year, while also slowly decelerating from the prior capacity growth.