Air Cargo demand reaches all-time high in March

GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says air cargo demand in March reached an all-time high even outperforming pre-COVID levels with demand up 4.4%, the highest recorded since 1990.

IATA said global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 4.4% compared to March 2019 and 0.4% compared to February 2021. This was a slower rate of growth than the previous month, which saw demand increase 9.2% compared to February 2019. A weaker performance by Asia-Pacific and African carriers compared to February contributed to softer growth in March.

Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), continued to recover in March, up 5.6% compared to the previous month. Despite this, capacity remains 11.7% below pre-COVID-19 levels (March 2019) due to the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft.

Airlines continue to use dedicated freighters to plug the lack of available belly-capacity. International capacity from dedicated freighters rose 20.6% in March 2021 compared to the same month in 2019 and belly-cargo capacity of passenger aircraft dropped by 38.4%.

IATA said demand for exports grew broadly in March. Delivery times for manufactured goods are increasing which normally indicates increased demand for air cargo in efforts to reduce shipping time.

“Air cargo continues to be the bright spot for aviation. Demand reached an all-time high in March, up 4.4% compared to pre-COVID levels (March, 2019). And airlines are taking all measures to find the needed capacity. The crisis has shown that air cargo can meet fundamental challenges by adopting innovations quickly. That is how it is meeting growing demand even as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded. The sector needs to retain this momentum post-crisis to drive the sector’s long-term efficiency with digitalization,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.