IATA witnesses growth in global demand for air cargo by 9.1% in September

African airlines’ observed global cargo volumes grow by 34.6% in September, the largest improvement of all areas for the ninth following month.

Global demand for cargo rose to 9.1% during September, compared to September 2019, noting that demand remained well above pre-COVID levels. However, capacity restraints proceed to continue, airline lobby group The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Supply chain disruptions and the resulting delivery delays have led to long supplier delivery times. This typically means manufacturers use air transport, which is quicker, to recover time lost during the production process. The September global Supplier Delivery Time Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was at 36, values below 50 are favourable for air cargo,” it added.

Advertisement

According to IATA data, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region observed their international air cargo quantities grow 4.5% in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2019, while North American carriers posted a 19.3% jump in global cargo volumes in September 2021 compared to September 2019.

European carriers witnessed a 5.3% jump in international cargo volumes in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2019, while Middle Eastern carriers underwent a 17.6% increase in global cargo volumes in September 2021 against September 2019.

Meanwhile, South American carriers recorded a slump of 17.1% in international cargo volumes in September corresponding to the 2019 period, which was the lowest performance of all regions, while African airlines’ observed global cargo volumes grow by 34.6% in September, the largest improvement of all areas for the ninth following month.

“Air cargo demand grew 9.1% in September compared to pre-COVID levels. There is a benefit from supply chain congestion as manufacturers turn to air transport for speed. But severe capacity constraints continue to limit the ability of air cargo to absorb extra demand,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General, in a statement.

“If not addressed, bottlenecks in the supply chain will slow the economic recovery from COVID-19. Governments must act to relieve pressure on global supply chains and improve their overall resilience,” Walsh added.