The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global air cargo markets showed air cargo demand continued to outperform pre-Covid levels based on March 2021 data, with demand up 4.4%.

"March demand reached the highest level recorded since the series began in 1990," IATA said. It added that month-on-month demand also increased albeit at a slower pace than the previous month with volumes up 0.4% in March over February 2021 levels.

In a statement, IATA said global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 4.4% compared to March 2019 and 0.4% compared to February 2021. It said this was a slower rate of growth than the previous month, which saw demand increase 9.2% compared to February 2019 — adding that a weaker performance by Asia-Pacific and African carriers compared to February contributed to softer growth in March.

Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), also continued to recover in March, up 5.6% compared to the previous month. IATA said despite this, capacity remains 11.7% below pre-Covid-19 levels (March 2019) due to the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft.

Meanwhile, airlines continue to use dedicated freighters to plug the lack of available belly capacity.

As of March this year, international capacity from dedicated freighters rose 20.6% compared to the same month in 2019, and the belly-cargo capacity of passenger aircraft dropped by 38.4%.

Economic conditions supportive for air cargo

IATA said underlying economic conditions remain supportive for air cargo — evidenced by new export numbers as well as trade growth reported as the ninth consecutive monthly increase and the longest continuous growth in more than two decades. IATA noted that delivery times for manufactured goods are also increasing which normally indicates increased demand for air cargo in efforts to reduce shipping time.

"Air cargo continues to be the bright spot for aviation. Demand reached an all-time high in March, up 4.4% compared to pre-COVID levels (March, 2019). And airlines are taking all measures to find the needed capacity," said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General.

"The crisis has shown that air cargo can meet fundamental challenges by adopting innovations quickly. That is how it is meeting growing demand even as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded. The sector needs to retain this momentum post-crisis to drive the sector’s long-term efficiency with digitalization."

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March Regional Performance

Looking at the regional performance for March, IATA said Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo drop 0.3% in March 2021 compared to the same month in 2019 — seen on most of the trade lanes connected with Asia. International capacity remained constrained in the region, down 20.7% versus March 2019, while the region’s airlines reported the highest international load factor at 78.4%.

North American carriers posted a 14.5% increase in international demand in March. The strong performance, IATA said, reflects the "strength of the economic recovery in the US" — with Q1 GDP rising 6.4% in annualized terms, up from 4.3% in Q4 bringing the country’s economy close to pre-Covid levels.

"The business environment for air cargo remains supportive; the new export orders component of the PMI rose to its highest level since 2007. International capacity grew by 1.8% compared with March 2019," it added.

European carriers, meanwhile, posted a 0.7% increase in demand in March compared to the same month in 2019 with improved operating conditions and recovering export orders contributed to the positive performance.

Middle Eastern carriers posted a 9.2% rise in international cargo volumes during the same period. IATA said month-on-month, Middle East carriers posted the strongest growth of all regions, up 4.4%.

Of the region’s key international routes, Middle East-North America and Middle East-Asia have provided the most significant support, it added.

Latin American carriers reported a decline of 23.6% in international cargo volumes which was the "worst performance" of all regions, according to IATA as drivers of air cargo demand in Latin America remain relatively less supportive than in the other regions.

Africa airlines’ cargo demand in March, was up 24.6% compared to the same month in 2019, which was also the strongest of all regions. IATA said this is due to robust expansion on the Asia-Africa trade lanes.

IATA noted that because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of Covid-19, all comparisons to follow are to March 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern.