April 2021 data for global air cargo markets, released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), shows air cargo demand outperforming pre-COVID levels (April 2019) with demand up 12%.
Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), was up 12% compared to April 2019 and 7.8% compared to March 2021. Seasonally adjusted demand was 5% higher than the pre-crisis August 2018 peak.
The strong performance was led by North American carriers contributing 7.5 percentage points to the 12% growth rate in April. Airlines in all other regions except for Latin America also supported the growth.
Capacity remains 9.7% below pre-COVID-19 levels (April 2019) due to the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft. Airlines continue to use dedicated freighters to plug the lack of available belly capacity. International capacity from dedicated freighters rose 26.2% in April 2021 compared to the same month in 2019, while belly-cargo capacity dropped by 38.5%.
Underlying economic conditions and favorable supply chain dynamics remain supportive for air cargo. While global trade rose 4.2% in March, competitiveness against sea shipping improved. Air cargo rates have stabilized since reaching a peak in April 2020, while shipping container rates have remain relatively high in comparison. Meanwhile, longer supplier delivery times as economic activity ramps up make the speed of air cargo an advantage by recovering some of the time lost in the production process.
“Air cargo continues to be the good news story for the air transport sector. Demand is up 12% on pre-crisis levels and yields are solid. Some regions are outperforming the global trend, most notably carriers in North America, the Middle East and Africa. Strong air cargo performance, however, is not universal. The recovery for carriers in the Latin American region, for example, is stalled,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo increase 9.2% in April 2021 compared to the same month in 2019. International capacity remained constrained in the region, down 18.7% versus April 2019. As was also the case in March, the region’s airlines reported the highest international load factor at 77.5%.
North American carriers posted a 25.6% increase in international demand in April 2021 compared to April 2019. Carriers from the region have also been able to grow their market share, notably on routes between North and South America, owing to the large freighter fleets they have available. International capacity grew by 5.5% compared with April 2019.
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