THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global air freight markets in August, noting slow improvements due to lack of capacity.

IATA director-general and chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac said air cargo demand improved by 1.8 percentage points in August compared to July.

“That’s still down 12.6% on previous year levels and well below the 5.1% improvement in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index.

“Improvement is being stalled by capacity constraints as large parts of the passenger fleet, which normally carries 50% of all cargo, remain grounded,” he said in a statement today.

De Juniac said the peak season for air cargo will start in the coming weeks, but with severe capacity constraints shippers may look to alternatives such as sea and rail to keep the global economy moving.

On regional performance, IATA said airlines in Asia Pacific saw demand for international air cargo falling 18.3% in August this year compared with the same period a year earlier.

After a robust initial recovery in May, it said month-on-month growth in seasonally-adjusted demand declined for the second consecutive month.

International capacity is particularly constrained in the region, down 35%, he said.

North American carriers are experiencing its third consecutive month with a single-digit decline, IATA said, adding that demand fell 4% compared with the previous year.

This steady performance was due in part to strong domestic and transpacific demand on the Asia-North America route, reflecting e-commerce demand for products manufactured in Asia.

“However, international capacity decreased 28.2%,” it said, adding that demand for European carriers decreased by 19.3% compared with the previous year.

IATA said demand on most key trade lanes to/from the region remained weak with the large Europe-Asia market down 18.6% year-on-year in August, while international capacity decreased 33.5%.

Middle Eastern carriers reported a decline of 6.8% year-on-year for its international cargo volumes in August, a significant improvement from the 15.1% fall in July.

“Regional airlines have aggressively added capacity in the last few months, improving from a 42% fall at the trough in April, to a decline of 24.2% in August, the most resilient of all regions.

“Demand on trade routes to and from Asia and North America also remained strong with demand down 3.3% and up 2.3%, respectively, year-on-year,” said IATA.

For Latin American carriers, it said the demand was steady at -26.1% compared to the previous year, ending three consecutive months of deteriorating demand.

“Demand on trade routes between Latin America (particularly Central America) and North America have compensated for weakness on other routes.

“Capacity remains significantly constrained in the region with international capacity, decreasing 38.5% in August, the largest fall of any region,” it said.

Meanwhile, African airlines saw demand increase by 1% in August.

“Investment flows along the Africa-Asia route continue to drive the regional outcomes,” said IATA. 

This was the fourth consecutive month in which the region posted the strongest increase in international demand and the only instance of year-on-year growth among all regions in international volumes, it added. – Bernama, September 29, 2020.