Page 35 - AAA March / April 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP

increased 25.8% year-on-year “This is a strong start to the
declining 2.2% compared to the
previous year. The forecast for
the year, it may be recalled, was
for a 3.8% decline in airfreight
traffic.
The start to 2024,
which saw two months
of sustained growth,
marks a real turning
point for an industry
that was long overdue
for good news. January
recording the highest
annual growth in CTKs
since the summer
season of 2021. Total
demand increased by
18.4% this January
compared to the same
month last year.
With international operations
up 19.8%. According to IATA,
capacity jumped 14.6% com-
pared to January 2023 (18.2%
for international operations).
International belly capacity
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE
(YoY) on the strength of passen-
ger markets. One of the major
reasons for the bright perfor-
mance is the easing of inflation
in most major economies except demand to trend above growth in
China, which saw a negative
inflation rate of -0.8%.
Dominant Performance
Standing out in a generally
strong performance are the
Middle East and Asia, high-
growth regions that are crucial
for the health of the industry.
Middle Eastern carriers, which
benefited from the growth in the tion and new export
Middle East–Asia and Middle
East–Europe markets, recorded
a whopping 25.9% year-on-
year increase in cargo volumes
in January, up from +18.3% in
December. Capacity increased
17.1% compared to the same
month last year. Asia-Pacific
airlines saw air cargo volumes
increase by 24.6% compared to
January last year, an increase
of 18.5% over December. With
international travel returning
to pre-pandemic levels and
belly capacity spiking, available
capacity for the region’s airlines
increased by 25.0% compared
to January last year. While
European, Latin American and
African airlines saw double digit
increases in cargo volumes,
of 16.4%, 13.4%, and 17 %
respectively, North American
carriers brough up the rear with
a modest 9.3% increase.
Proving that January’s perfor-
mance was not a flash in the
pan, February saw demand
increasing +11% compared to
the same month last year. The
increase is especially noteworthy Chief Airfreight Officer at Xeneta,
as the period is traditionally a
slower time of year for airfreight
volumes.
year,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s
Director General. “In particular,
the booming e-commerce sector
is continuing to help air cargo
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.”
Ongoing Recovery
With industrial produc-
orders continuing
to stagnate in many
regions, not every-
one is that convinced
that 2024 will see a
full recovery. Most
analysts say a real
recovery from the
freight recession will
happen only in 2025.
With 2024 being a transition year
from the freight recession, with
the real recovery occurring in
2025.
“It’s a surprising start to the year
from a volume perspective, and
not something people would
have expected, us included,
with demand much higher than
it was a year ago. Generally, we
wouldn’t expect to see a rate
uptick at this time of year. This
is likely related to the Red Sea
disruption, but this is not the only
factor,” says Niall van de Wouw,
a leading ocean and air freight
rate benchmarking and market
analytics platform.
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