Image: Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. Courtesy of IATA.

Global air cargo markets declined in January, however, there is still ‘solid ground’ for optimism going forward. This is according to data released by IATA.

”With January cargo demand down 14.9% and capacity up 3.9%, 2023 began under some challenging business conditions. That was accompanied by persistent uncertainties, including war in Ukraine, inflation, and labour shortages. However, yields remain higher than pre-pandemic. And China’s much faster than expected shift from its zero COVID policy is stabilising production conditions in air cargo’s largest source market. That will give a much-needed demand boost as companies increase their engagement with China,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

Regional performance in January

Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 19% in January 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was an improvement in performance compared to December (-21.2%). Airlines in the region continue to be impacted by lower levels of trade and manufacturing activity and disruptions in supply chains due to the residual effects of COVID restrictions that were imposed by China. Additionally, the positioning of the Lunar New Year would have impacted cargo volumes in January. Available capacity in the region increased by 8.8% compared to January 2022.

African airlines saw cargo volumes decrease by 9.5% in January 2023 compared to January 2022. This was an improvement in performance compared to the previous month (-10%). Capacity was 1.8% below January 2022 levels.

North American carriers posted an 8.7% decrease in cargo volumes in January 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was a slight decrease in performance compared to December (-8.5%). Capacity increased 2.3% compared to January 2022.

European carriers saw the weakest performance of all regions with a 20.4% decrease in cargo volumes in January 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was a decrease in performance compared to December (-19.4%). Airlines in the region continue to be most affected by the war in Ukraine. Capacity decreased 9.3% in January 2023 compared to January 2022

Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 11.8% year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in January 2023. This was an improvement to the previous month (-14.4%). Capacity increased 9.6% compared to January 2022.

Latin American carriers reported a 4.6% increase in cargo volumes in January 2023 compared to January 2022. This was the strongest performance of all regions, and a significant improvement in performance compared to December which saw no growth. Capacity in January was up 34.4% compared to the same month in 2022.

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