The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released July 2021 data for global air cargo markets showing that demand continued its strong growth trend.
It said global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 8.6% compared to July 2019. Overall growth remains strong compared to the long-term average growth trend of around 4.7%.
The airline association noted that the pace of growth slowed slightly compared to June which saw demand increase 9.2% (against pre-COVID-19 levels) and capacity continues to recover but is still 10.3% down compared to July 2019.
Economic conditions favor air cargo growth
IATA said economic conditions also continue to be favorable for air cargo with the July export orders component of the manufacturing Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) showing 52.7%, indicating a short-term boost to demand if those orders are shipped by air.
It said the inventory-to-sales ratio remains low ahead of the peak year-end retail season.
"July was another solid month for global air cargo demand. Economic conditions indicate that the strong growth trend will continue into the peak year-end demand period. The Delta variant of COVID-19 could bring some risks. If supply chains and production lines are disrupted, there is potential for a knock-on effect for air cargo shipments,” said Wille Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Regional performance
IATA revealed in its report that for July, Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo increase 4.4% compared to the same month in 2019, and an improvement compared to the previous month’s 3.9% expansion.
It said demand was affected by an easing of momentum in key activity indicators in Asia, and by congested supply chains.
North American carriers posted a 20.5% increase in international demand for the same month compared to pre-Covid 19 levels seen in July 2019. IATA said this was in line with June’s performance (19.8%) and the strongest of all regions.
It said new export orders and demand for faster shipping times are underpinning the North American performance.
European carriers, meanwhile saw a 6% increase in demand for the period — a marginal decrease compared to the previous month (6.8%) — although IATA said manufacturing activity, orders and supplier delivery times are still favorable to air cargo.
Middle Eastern carriers saw an 11.3% rise in international cargo volumes compared to the same period in 2019, but is 15.8% lower than the previous month.
Latin American carriers also reported a decline of 10.2% in international cargo volumes in July compared to the 2019 period, an improvement from the -21.5% fall recorded in June.
IATA said although Latin America continues to show the weakest regional performance, the comparison with pre-crisis traffic levels has been highly volatile in recent months.
It added that several trade routes to/from Latin America are performing well, such as North-Central and North-South America and Europe-South America, confirming that demand for air cargo in the region is recovering from the crisis.
IATA said African airlines cargo demand were unavailable at time of going to press and will be included next month.
