The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the demand for global air cargo has shown a significant increase in January 2024.
Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), increased by 18.4% compared to January 2023 levels (19.8% for international operations), IATA announced.
This is the highest annual growth in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) for the industry since summer 2021.
Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was up 14.6% compared to January 2023 (18.2% for international operations). This was largely related to the growth in belly capacity. International belly capacity rose 25.8% year-on-year (YoY) on the strength of passenger markets.
“Air cargo demand was up 18.4% year-on-year in January. This is a strong start to the year. In particular, the booming e-commerce sector is continuing to help air cargo demand to trend above growth in both trade and production since the last quarter of 2023. The counterweight to this good news is uncertainty over how China’s economic slowdown will unfold. This will be on the minds of air cargo executives meeting in Hong Kong next week for the IATA World Cargo Symposium with an agenda focused on digitalization, efficiency and sustainability,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.