The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that global air cargo markets saw another month of cargo growth in October, marking the third month of stronger year-on-year demand for the the freight industry.

Data released by IATA for October 2023 showed global demand — measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs) — increased by 3.8% compared to October 2022. It was up 3.5% for international operations.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), also continued to expand, growing 13.1% year-on-year in October which IATA said was largely related to the growth in belly capacity.

"Demand for air cargo was up 3.8% in October. That marks three consecutive months of year-on-year growth, placing air cargo on course to end 2023 on a much stronger footing than it began the year," said Willie Walsh, director-general at IATA, noting that recovering demand, slightly stronger yields and the uptick in trade are all good news.

"But with demand still 2.4% below pre-pandemic levels, and much uncertainty remaining over the trajectory of the global economy, optimism must be balanced with caution," the IATA chief said.

"Nonetheless, a continued strong peak year-end season will certainly help the sector to manage through whatever turns the global economy might take in 2024," Walsh added.

[Source: IATA]
 

October regional performance

The IATA report showed that Asia-Pacific airlines saw air cargo volumes increase by 7.6% in October compared to the same month last year. This performance was close to par with the previous month (+7.7%).

IATA noted that carriers in the region benefited from ongoing growth in international CTK's on three major trade lanes: Africa-Asia, Middle East-Asia, and Europe-Asia.

Meanwhile, available capacity for the region's airlines increased by 30.0% compared to October 2022 as more belly capacity came online from the passenger side of the business (a year ago, the key Asian markets of Japan and China were still largely under severe COVID-19 travel restrictions).

North American carriers had the weakest performance in October with a 1.8% decrease year-on-year in cargo volumes — albeit a slight improvement in performance compared to September (-2.2%). 

The report said European carriers saw their air cargo volumes increase by 1.0% year-on-year in October — also marking a stronger performance than in September (-1.5%).

IATA said carriers in the region benefitted from the first growth in international CTK's in the within Europe market since January 2022. Gains made from the expansion in the Middle East-Europe trade lane also benefited carriers in the region.

Middle Eastern carriers had the strongest cargo performance in October this year, with a 10.9% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes as carriers in the region benefited from growth in the Middle East–Asia and Middle East–Europe markets. 

Latin American carriers experienced a 4.0% increase in cargo volumes compared to October 2022.

On the other hand, African airlines, saw their air cargo volumes increase by 2.9% in October 2023, much improved compared to September's performance.

IATA noted that after a continuous 17-month decline, cargo yields ticked-up in September and continued into October with a 2.6% month-on-month gain, remaining well-above pre-pandemic levels.