The global air cargo industry registered a total of 23.1 billion cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) in March 2024, an increase of 17.4% month-on-month (MoM) and 10.3% growth YoY.
- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Air Cargo Market Analysis shows that global air cargo demand marked the fourth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year (YoY) growth in (CTKs) with 10.3% in March 2024.
- Cumulative industry CTKs to March, in year-to-date (YTD) terms, marked a total of 63.6 billion, a 13.2% increase from the 2023 value and settling 0.6% above 2022.
- The 10.3% YoY growth in industry CTKs was driven by traffic on international routes, which expanded by a total of 11.4% YoY in March, helped by the rapidly increasing demand for e-commerce services.
“International CTKs of airlines registered in Middle East and Africa led with the highest annual growth rates, with 19.9% and 14.1%, respectively. These carriers are likely benefiting from continued conflict- and drought-induced disruptions in the Suez and Panama Canals, which have been affecting global maritime shipping capacity,” reads the report.
These airlines were closely followed by the ones registered in Asia Pacific (13.8% YoY), Europe (10.0%), and Latin America (7.8%). North American carriers experienced the lowest annual growth with 3.1% YoY.
Middle East–Europe and within Europe led yearly growth rates with, respectively, 38.3 % and 24.7%. The Africa–Asia market followed with 22.9% YoY, however shedding a notable 19.8 ppt since last month’s reading: by far the strongest contraction across the major route areas.
Similar to the evolution on the demand side, air cargo capacity neared peak levels achieved in December 2023, with ACTKs at 48.9 billion last month. Significantly, the March figures remained 7.3% above 2023 levels.
The annual growth in industry ACTKs for March was almost exclusively driven by belly-hold capacity, which recorded the 35th month of consecutive double-digit growth in March with 20.6% YoY.
In stark contrast, international cargo capacity on dedicated freighters rose by a modest 1.2% YoY. The MoM evolution was reversed, as dedicated freights stood at 17.7% compared to the previous month, while belly-hold capacity recorded an 8.9% increase.
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