News
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released February 2021 data for global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand continued to outperform pre-COVID levels with demand up 9% over February 2019. February demand also showed strong month-on-month growth over January 2021 levels. Volumes have now returned to 2018 levels seen prior to the US-China trade war.
Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons to follow are to February 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern.
Global demand, measured in cargo ton-kilometers (CTKs), was up 9% compared to February 2019 and +1.5% compared to January 2021. All regions except for Latin America saw an improvement in air cargo demand compared to pre-COVID levels and North America and Africa were the strongest performers.
The recovery in global capacity, measured in available cargo ton-kilometers (ACTKs), stalled owing to new capacity cuts on the passenger side as governments tightened travel restrictions due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. Capacity shrank 14.9% compared to February 2019. The operating conditions remain supportive for air cargo:
Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo rise 10.5% in February 2021 compared to the same month in 2019. International capacity remained constrained in the region, down 23.6% versus February 2019. The region's airlines reported the highest international load factor at 77.4%.
North American carriers posted a 17.4% increase in international demand in February compared to February 2019. Demand grew 39% on the Asia - North America route vs February 2019. The business environment for air cargo remains supportive; the $1,400 stimulus checks to US households will likely drive further growth in e-commerce and the level of inventories remains relatively low compared to sales volumes. International capacity grew by 4.4% in February compared to 2019.
European carriers posted a 4.7% increase in demand in February compared to same month in 2019. Cargo demand was largely unaffected by the new lockdowns in Europe and the operating conditions remain supportive for air cargo. International capacity decreased by 12.5% in February.
Middle Eastern carriers posted an 8.8% rise in international cargo volumes in February versus February 2019. Of the region's key international routes, Middle East-Asia and Middle East-North America have provided the most significant support, rising 27% and 17% respectively in February compared to February 2019. February capacity was down 14.9% compared to the same month in 2019.
Latin American carriers reported a decline of 20.5% in international cargo volumes in February compared to the 2019 period; this was a deterioration from January when demand was down the 17.5% on 2019 levels.
African airlines' cargo demand in February increased a massive 44.2% compared to the same month in 2019 the strongest of all regions. Robust expansion on the Asia-Africa trade lanes contributed to the strong growth. February international capacity grew by 9.8% compared to February 2019.
