Middle Eastern carriers have experienced a 11.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) decrease in cargo volumes in April, IATA said and noted the effects of Omicron in Asia and the Russia-Ukraine war continued to create a challenging operating backdrop.
IATA’s April 2022 data for global air cargo markets showed a drop in demand and contraction in capacity.
Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 11.2% compared to April 2021 (-10.6% for international operations). Global demand is down 1% compared to April 2019.
Capacity was 2% below 2021 (+1.2% for international operations). Both global capacity and international capacity decreased slightly in April compared to March. Asia experienced the largest falls in capacity.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 15.8% in April 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. This was the weakest performance of all regions and significantly slower than the previous month (-5.1%).
Airlines in the region have been heavily impacted by lower trade and manufacturing activity due to Omicron-related lockdowns in China. Because of this, available capacity in the region fell 19.4% compared to April 2021, the largest drop of all regions.
“The war in Ukraine led to a fall in cargo capacity used to serve Europe as several airlines based in Russia and Ukraine were key cargo players,” IATA said.
And the zero-Covid in China led to capacity challenges due to flight cancellations because of labour shortages.
New export orders, a leading indicator of cargo demand and world trade are now shrinking in all markets except the US. 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).
The lockdowns have brought much of the world’s largest port, Shanghai, to a standstill. Supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict are also adding to the downward pressure on trade.
IATA’s director general Willie Walsh said, “Air cargo demand fell by 11.2% in April and capacity contracted 2% compared to April 2021. The combination of the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China have pushed up energy costs, intensified supply chain disruptions, and fed inflation. The operating environment is challenging for all businesses, including air cargo. But with China easing lockdown restrictions, there is cause for some optimism and the supply/demand imbalance is keeping yields high.”
IATA’s April 2022 data for global air cargo markets showed a drop in demand and contraction in capacity.
Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 11.2% compared to April 2021 (-10.6% for international operations). Global demand is down 1% compared to April 2019.
Capacity was 2% below 2021 (+1.2% for international operations). Both global capacity and international capacity decreased slightly in April compared to March. Asia experienced the largest falls in capacity.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 15.8% in April 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. This was the weakest performance of all regions and significantly slower than the previous month (-5.1%).
Airlines in the region have been heavily impacted by lower trade and manufacturing activity due to Omicron-related lockdowns in China. Because of this, available capacity in the region fell 19.4% compared to April 2021, the largest drop of all regions.
“The war in Ukraine led to a fall in cargo capacity used to serve Europe as several airlines based in Russia and Ukraine were key cargo players,” IATA said.
And the zero-Covid in China led to capacity challenges due to flight cancellations because of labour shortages.
New export orders, a leading indicator of cargo demand and world trade are now shrinking in all markets except the US. 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).
The lockdowns have brought much of the world’s largest port, Shanghai, to a standstill. Supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict are also adding to the downward pressure on trade.
IATA’s director general Willie Walsh said, “Air cargo demand fell by 11.2% in April and capacity contracted 2% compared to April 2021. The combination of the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China have pushed up energy costs, intensified supply chain disruptions, and fed inflation. The operating environment is challenging for all businesses, including air cargo. But with China easing lockdown restrictions, there is cause for some optimism and the supply/demand imbalance is keeping yields high.”