The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), decreased by 3.5% in October 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.
This marks a weak start to the traditional peak season for air cargo and the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in freight volumes.
Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), rose by 2.2% year-on-year in October 2019. Capacity growth has now outstripped demand growth for the eighteenth consecutive month.
Over the past year, air cargo has suffered from the effects of the trade war between the US and China, the deterioration in global trade, and a broad-based slowing in economic growth.
“Air cargo’s peak season is off to a disappointing start, with demand down 3.5% in October. Demand is set to decline in 2019 overall - the weakest annual outcome since the global financial crisis. It has been a very tough year for the air cargo industry,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.
Middle Eastern airlines’ freight volumes decreased 6.0% in October 2019 compared to the year-ago period.
This was the sharpest drop in freight demand of any region for the month.
Capacity increased by 0.9%. Against a backdrop of operational and geopolitical challenges facing some of the region’s key airlines, seasonally-adjusted freight volumes in the region have resumed a modest upward trend which is a positive development for the region’s carriers.
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