Global air cargo demand (measured in cargo tonne kilometres) fell by 3,3% last January compared to the same period in 2018, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released on Wednesday (04.03.2020), which says that this is the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in cargo volumes.
«The air cargo industry started the year on a weak footing. There was optimism that an easing of trade tensions between the US and China would provide a boost to the sector in 2020. But that has been overtaken by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has severely disrupted global supply chains, although it did not have a major impact on January cargo performance., explained the director general of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, who warns that "difficult times are coming«.
Cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACT), increased 0,9% year-on-year in January. Capacity growth has outpaced demand growth for 21 consecutive months.
The organisation says that “the COVID-19 outbreak is unlikely to have played a role in the weak performance in January”. The Chinese New Year fell earlier in 2020, which meant that this year’s figures were affected as many Chinese manufacturers were closed over the holiday period.
"The February performance will give a better picture of how COVID-19 is impacting global air cargo," the organization said.
The Airlines in Asia and the Pacific and Europe suffered sharp declines in their year-over-year growth in total air cargo volumes in January, while airlines in North America and the Middle East experienced a more moderate decline.
Thus, Latin America and Africa were the only regions to record growth in air cargo demand compared to January last year.
The largest drop in demand last January was recorded in the Asia Pacific region, which suffered a decrease of -5,9%, followed by Europe with a fall of -3,7%. North America (-1,3%) and the Middle East (-1,4%) also registered a decrease, although less so. The only positive figures were for Africa (+6,8%) and Latin America (+1,4%).
Global air cargo capacity, meanwhile, remains positive in almost all markets except Europe, where it fell by -3%. The greatest growth was in Africa, with increases of +5,9%, followed by North America (+3,4%), the Middle East (+2,9%), and Latin America (+2,4%). Asia Pacific capacity remained unchanged.
IATA represents 290 airlines comprising 82 percent of global air traffic.
Global #passenger demand in January 2020 rose 2.4% compared to 2019. This is the slowest monthly growth in nearly a decade. Major factor: the # COVID19 outbreak. #aviation
How was your region affected? ? https://t.co/vC669BnV79 pic.twitter.com/Wghw96LPxf
- IATA (@IATA) March 4, 2020
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