10 December 2021
AIR CARGO DEMAND UP 9.4% IN OCTOBER
On 2 December, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets in October 2021, showing that demand continued to be well above pre-crisis levels and that the capacity constraints have eased slightly.
According to IATA, global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), was up 9.4% compared to October 2019. Capacity constraints have eased slightly but remain 7.2% below pre-COVID-19 levels (October 2019). IATA notes that the figures are influenced by economic conditions continuing to support air cargo growth, albeit being slightly weaker than in the previous months. More specifically, the following factors have been singled out by IATA:
- Supply chain disruptions and the resulting delivery delays have led to long supplier delivery times. This typically results in manufacturers using air transport, which is quicker, to recover time lost during the production process. The global Supplier Delivery Time Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reached an all-time low of 34.8 in October; values below 50 are favourable for air cargo.
- Relevant components of the October PMIs (new export orders and manufacturing output) have been in a gradual slowdown since May but remain in favourable territory.
- The inventory-to-sales ratio remains low ahead of the peak year-end retail events such as Christmas. This is positive for air cargo as manufacturers turn to air cargo to rapidly meet demand.
- Global goods trade and industrial production remain above pre-crisis levels.
- The cost-competitiveness of air cargo relative to that of container shipping remains favourable.
Source: IATA