According to data for the month of January released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) global air cargo markets indicating a strong start to 2024.
Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), increased by 18.4% in January, compared to January 2023 levels (19.8% for international operations). This significant upturn marks the highest annual growth in CTKs since the summer season of 2021.
Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was up 14.6% compared to January 2023 (18.2% for international operations). This was largely related to the growth in belly capacity. International belly capacity rose 25.8% year-on-year (YoY) on the strength of passenger markets.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 24.6% in January 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.
North American carriers had the weakest performance of all regions in January with a 9.3% increase (YoY) in cargo volumes. This was an improvement in performance compared to December (2.0%).
European carriers saw their air cargo volumes increase by 16.4% in January, while Middle Eastern carriers had the strongest performance in January 2024, with a 25.9% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes.
Latin American carriers experienced a 13.4% increase in cargo volumes compared to January 2023 and African airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 17.0% in January 2024, much improved compared to December’s performance (-1.2%).
Source: IATA