News
November 2021 was a relatively soft month for air cargo, as industry-wide cargo ton-kilometers (CTKs) grew by 3.7% compared to the same month in 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This is down from 8.2% in October on the same basis and the lowest rate since January 2021.
The deterioration is somewhat unexpected, as there are signs that demand remains strong during the peak cargo season. Most of the slowdown in the volumes carried in November can be explained by supply chain issues.
November saw significant difficulties in moving cargo at several key airports, such as New York’s JFK, Los Angeles and Amsterdam. This was caused by labor shortages - partly related to workers placed in quarantine - insufficient storage space at airports, and a large backlog of shipments to process.
The lack of cargo capacity on some key trade lanes such as within Asia further also prevented all the demand from being met. While there is capacity globally, it is sometimes not available at the right place.
All the main regions covered by the IATA registered slower air cargo growth in November versus 2019. Asia Pacific was relatively resilient, with total seasonally adjusted (SA) CTKs rising by 0.4% month-on-month, the only region with an increase in this metric.
