Shanghai PVG saw its cargo capacity drop in April to just a third of the level seen last year amid continuing lockdowns that have brought manufacturing to a standstill at the major Chinese air cargo and seaport hub.

Accenture's Seabury Consulting data showed that in the first two weeks of April 2022, air cargo capacity from Shanghai Pudong (PVG) dropped by two-thirds compared to the same weeks in 2021 or is 66.4% down compared to the same period last year.

The statistics also noted that in terms of how capacity has been lowered since the Shanghai lockout began, weekly cargo capacity between April 11 and 17 was 62.3% lower – 15,800 tonnes – than the 41,900 tonnes reported between March 21 and 27.

The majority of the drop has come from non-Asia Pacific airlines, which have lowered their capacity by 75.7% to 4,100 tonnes over that time.

Airlines based in the Asia Pacific have cut their capacity by 53.4% to 11,700 tonnes for the period.

The capacity restrictions come as airlines reduced operations at the major hub due to the lockdowns which put manufacturing at a halt. Trucking was also severely impacted posing major challenges to moving freight in and out of Shanghai — prompting airlines to reroute to other Chinese hubs for the time being.

Seabury Consulting said as Shanghai factories are preparing to reopen and restrictions are lifted, air cargo capacity could be less constrained in the near future.

Meanwhile, Seabury data also showed that global international air cargo capacity was down 6% between April 4-17 compared to the level seen in 2019 with Asia to the Middle East to Europe is 9% due to continuous rerouting of capacity.

Nonetheless, the most notable decline was in services between Asia- and Europe with capacity dropping by 53% due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 related lockdowns in Shanghai.