Global air cargo demand softens in Sept 2022: IATA

Following contractions across major economies, the global purchasing managers index (PMI) for new export orders contracted (for a third month in a row) to its lowest level in two years during September.

Latest global goods trade figures showed a 5.2 per cent expansion in September, a positive sign for the global economy. This is expected to primarily benefit maritime cargo, with a slight boost to air cargo as well, IATA said in a release.

“While air cargo’s activity continues to track near to 2019 levels, volumes remain below 2021’s exceptional performance as the industry faces some headwinds. At the consumer level, with travel restrictions lifting post-pandemic, people are likely to spend more on vacation travel and less on e-commerce,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh.

“And at the macro-level, increasing recession warnings are likely to have a negative impact on the global flows of goods and services, balanced slightly by a stabilisation of oil prices. Against this backdrop, air cargo is bearing up well. And a strategic slow-down in capacity growth from 6.3 per cent in August to 2.4 per cent in September demonstrates the flexibility the industry has in adjusting to economic developments,” he added.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 10.7 per cent in September this year compared with the figure in same month last year. This was a decline in performance compared to August this year.

Airlines in the region continue to be affected by the conflict in Ukraine, labour shortages and lower levels of trade and manufacturing activity due to Omicron-related restrictions in China. Available capacity in the region increased by 2.8 per cent compared to 2021.

North American carriers posted a 6 per cent decrease in cargo volumes in September compared with the same month last year—a decline in performance compared to August.  Capacity was up by 4.6 per cent compared to September 2021.

European carriers saw a 15.6 per cent decrease in cargo volumes in September compared to the same month last year. This was on par with the performance in August this year. Capacity increased by 0.2 per cent in September compared to the same month last year.

Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 15.8 per cent year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in September this year. This was the worst performance of all regions and a significant decline compared to the previous month.

Stagnant cargo volumes to and from Europe affected the region’s performance. Capacity was down by 2.8 per cent compared to September last year.

Latin American carriers reported an increase of 10.8 per cent in cargo volumes in September 2022 compared to the same month last year. This was the strongest performance of all regions.

Airlines in this region have shown optimism by introducing new services and capacity, and in some cases investing in additional aircraft for air cargo in the coming months. Capacity in September was up by 18.4 per cent compared to the same month in 2021.

African airlines saw cargo volumes increase by 0.1 per cent in September compared to the same month last year. This was a slight decrease in the growth recorded the previous month. Capacity was 4.1 per cent below September 2021 levels.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)