WAR IN UKRAINE AND OMICRON RESULT IN DROP IN AIR CARGO DEMAND
On 3 May, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets in March 2022, showing a drop in demand. According to the analysis, the effects of the Omicron variant in Asia, the war in Ukraine, and a challenging operating backdrop contributed to the decline.
Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 5.2% compared to March 2021. At the same time, capacity was 1.2% above March 2021. While this is in positive territory, it is a significant decline from the 11.2% year-on-year increase in February. Asia and Europe experienced the largest falls in capacity.
IATA highlights that several factors in the operating environment should be noted, such as the war in Ukraine, which led to a fall in cargo capacity used to serve Europe as several airlines based in Russia and Ukraine were key cargo players. Additionally, sanctions against Russia led to disruptions in manufacturing and rising oil prices had a negative economic impact, including raising costs for shipping. Moreover, global goods trade has continued to decline in 2022, with China’s economy growing more slowly because of COVID-19 related lockdowns (among other factors).
Source: IATA