The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global air cargo demand in November marked the "strongest year-on-year growth" in roughly two years.

"This is partly due to weakness in November 2022 but also reflects a fourth consecutive month of strengthening demand for air cargo," its latest report said.

For November 2023, IATA said global demand for air cargo — measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs) — increased by 8.3% compared to November 2022. For international operations, demand growth was 8.1%.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was also up 13.7% compared to November 2022 (+11.6% for international operations).

IATA noted that most of the capacity growth continues to be attributable to the increase in belly capacity as international passenger markets continue their post-COVID recovery.

When compared to November 2019 (pre-COVID-19), the air cargo trade organisation said demand is down 2.5%, while capacity is up 4.1%.

"November air cargo demand was up 8.3% in 2023 — the strongest year-on-year growth in almost two years," said Willie Walsh, director-general at IATA, adding that this figure doubles October's 3.8% increase and a fourth month of positive market development.

"It is shaping up to be an encouraging year-end for air cargo despite the significant economic concerns that were present throughout 2023 and continue on the horizon," Walsh said.

 [Source: IATA]

Regional performance

IATA said for the period, Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 13.8% year-on-year, which was "significantly above" the previous month's growth of 7.6%.

Available capacity for the region's airlines increased by 29.6% compared to November 2022 as more belly capacity came online with the removal of COVID-19 restrictions.

North American carriers had the weakest demand growth in November, with a 1.8% increase (YoY) in cargo volumes but IATA said this is a "significant improvement" in performance compared to October's 1.8% contraction.

European carriers, on the other hand, saw their air cargo volumes increase by 6.7% in November 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 — also up from its October performance (1.0%).

Middle Eastern carriers had the strongest performance in November 2023, with a 13.5% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes — similar to the previous month's growth.

IATA said Latin American carriers experienced a 4.2% increase in cargo volumes compared to November 2022, very similar to the 4.0% year-on-year increase recorded for October.

Meanwhile, African airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 3.9% year-on-year in November 2023, slightly improved compared to October's +2.9% growth performance.