compared with last year's strong air cargo rates and record high demand for Asian routes, the air cargo market this year is relatively dismal. In October, air cargo demand suffered the largest percentage drop so far this year.
IATA's latest data show that in October, air cargo volume per ton-kilometer fell by 13.6 percent year-on-year, capacity fell by 0.6 percent, and load factor fell by 7.4 percentage points year-on-year to 48.7 percent.
Willie Walsh, director of the International Air Transport Association, said: "Air cargo is still resilient in the continued headwinds. Freight demand in October was lower than the excellent performance in the same period in 2021, but increased by 3.5% over September. Despite economic uncertainty, the traditional peak season at the end of the year gave the industry a boost. With the end of 2022, the current economic uncertainty seems to continue into the new year and needs to be closely watched."
Asia Pacific Airlines Air Cargo Volume in October decreased by 14.7% YoY in the same period of 2021. Compared with September, it decreased by 10.7%. Compared with 2021, the available capacity in the region decreased by 2.8%.
North American Airlines Cargo Volume in October decreased by 8.6% compared with the same period in 2021. This is down from September (down 6.0%). Capacity increased by 2.4% compared with October 2021.
European Airlines Cargo Volume in October decreased by 18.8% compared with the same period in 2021. The performance was the weakest among all regions, continuing the downward trend in September (down 15.6%). High levels of inflation, including in Turkey, have affected freight volumes. Compared with the same period of October 2021, capacity decreased by 5.2% in October 2022.
Middle East Airlines Cargo Volume Declines 15.0% YoY in October. A slight improvement from the previous month (down 15.8%). The stagnation of freight traffic in and out of Europe has affected the performance of the region. Compared with the same period of 2021, the capacity increased by 1.0%.
Latin American airlines' cargo volume in October decreased by 1.4% year-on-year in October 2021. The performance was the strongest among all regions, but it was still significantly lower than in September (up 10.8%). This is the first decline in freight traffic in the region since March 2021. Capacity in October increased by 19.2% over the same period in 2021.
African Airlines Cargo Volume in October 2022 decreased by 8.3% YoY in October 2021. Significant decrease from September (up 0.1%). Capacity is 7.4% lower than the level in October 2021.
With the economy weak, inflation rising rapidly, consumers reluctant to spend and destination markets high inventory levels, freight volumes or rates show no sign of seasonal increases.
WorldACD pointed out that comparing the global market with the same period last year, the overall billing weight in the last two weeks of November decreased by 18% compared with the same period in 2021, while the capacity increased by 1%.
As of the last week of November, the average spot price from Shanghai to North America fell 2.5 times year-on-year to 5.75 US dollars per kilogram; according to the Baltic Airlines Index (BAI), the Shanghai-Nordic air cargo rate fell 31% to 5.00 US dollars/kg.
"We have seen a clear lack of volume and interest rates during the peak season," global bank Stifel director and senior analyst Bruce Chan said Friday in a research note.
Forwardernet.com