INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Geneva: Global air cargo demand continues to outperform pre-Covid levels (April 2019) with demand up 12 per cent, the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.Global demand measured in cargo tonne-kilometres was up 12 per cent compared to April 2019 and
7.8 per cent compared to March 2021
Seasonally adjusted demand is now 5 per cent higher than the pre-crisis August 2018 peak.The strong performance was led by North American
carriers contributing 7.5 percentage points to the 12 per cent growth rate in April
Airlines in all other regions except for Latin America also supported the growth.Capacity remains 9.7 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels
(April 2019) due to the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft
Airlines continue to use dedicated freighters to plug the lack of available belly capacity.International capacity from dedicated freighters
rose 26.2 per cent in April 2021 compared to the same month in 2019 while belly-cargo capacity dropped by 38.5 per cent.Underlying economic
conditions and favourable supply chain dynamics remain supportive for air cargo
Global trade rose 4.2 per cent in March.Competitiveness against sea shipping has improved
Air cargo rates have stabilised since reaching a peak in April 2020 while shipping container rates have remain relatively high in
comparison.Meanwhile, longer supplier delivery times as economic activity ramps up make the speed of air cargo an advantage by recovering
some of the time lost in the production process."Air cargo continues to be the good news story for the air transport sector
Demand is up 12 per cent on pre-crisis levels and yields are solid," said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General."Some regions are
outperforming the global trend, most notably carriers in North America, the Middle East and Africa
Strong air cargo performance, however, is not universal
The recovery for carriers in the Latin American region, for example, is stalled," he said.Asia Pacific airlines saw demand for international
air cargo increase 9.2 per cent in April 2021 compared to the same month in 2019
This was a significant improvement in performance compared to the previous month.International capacity remained constrained in the region,
down 18.7 per cent versus April 2019
As was also the case in March, the region's airlines reported the highest international load factor at 77.5 per cent.
