The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released global air cargo performance in 2024 data. The data covers demand increase, capacity, yield, overall air cargo performance in 2024, and growth prospects for 2025.
Global air cargo performance: demand, capacity, and yield
Firstly, a full years demand increase measured in cargo tonne kilometres (CTK) is at 11.3% year-to-date in 2024 compared to 2023. The full-year 2024 demand exceeded record volumes in 2021. Meanwhile, international operations saw an increase of 12.2%.
Secondly, a full years capacity measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK) shows a 7.4% increase year-to-date in 2024 compared to 2023. Similarly, there was a growth of 9.6% for international operations.
However, the full years average yield is 1.6% lower than in 2023 but 39% higher than in 2019.
Factors that possibly led to air cargo growth: IATA
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General says of air cargo growth in 2024:
“It was a year of profitable growth”
The demand increase of 11.3% saw a boost particularly due to strong e-commerce and ocean shipping restrictions. Strong e-commerce shows strong customer sentiment evident in the growth of global trade in goods by 3.6% annually in 2024. Furthermore, the airspace restrictions in place that limit capacity on key long-haul routes to Asia have helped to keep yield at exceptionally high levels.
IATA estimates growth of 5.8% in 2025, though its calculation may be overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s intentions to impose global tariffs.
In December 2024, the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers Index or PMI and new export orders PMI were below the 50 mark at 49.2 and 48.2 respectively. It indicates a decline in global manufacturing production and exports, affecting overall global trade and air cargo’s growth prospects. Based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation increased by 0.2 percentage points to reach 2.9% in December 2024. In the EU region in the same month, the inflation rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to touch 2.7%. Meanwhile, the inflation rate in China fell by 0.1% in December. The year-on-year decline indicates a slowdown in economic growth. Should inflation persist in the major regions mentioned above, it would affect demand and in turn, air cargo growth.
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