Middle Eastern carriers increased air cargo volumes by 0.5 percent year on year in June 2023, but global air cargo markets had the smallest year-over-year decrease in demand since February 2022, according to data supplied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The Middle Eastern result was a strong turnaround from the 2.9 percent year-over-year decline registered in May. Capacity rose 11.1 percent for the month. Both Middle East-Asia and Middle East-Europe route areas saw annual growth. For the first half of the year, cargo demand was down 5.6 percent compared to a year ago, with an 11.2 percent hike in capacity.

“We remain hopeful that the difficult trading conditions for air cargo will moderate as inflation eases in major economies. This, in turn, could encourage the central banks to loosen the money supply, which could stimulate greater economic activity,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Meanwhile, worldwide demand in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs) declined 3.4 percent in June compared to the same month in 2022 (-3.7 percent for international operations). Demand fell 8.1 percent in the first half of the year compared to the January-June period of 2022 (-8.7 percent for overseas operations). However, demand in June was just 2.4 percent lower than in June 2019 (pre-pandemic).

Capacity, as measured by available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), rose 9.7 percent compared to June 2022, which was a slower rate compared to the double-digit growth recorded between March and May. This reflects strategic capacity adjustments airlines are making amid a weakened demand environment. Capacity for the first half of 2023 was up 9.9 percent compared to a year ago. Capacity is now 3.7 percent above June 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels.

Global cross-border trade decreased by 2.4 percent year-over-year in May, reflecting the cooling demand environment and challenging macroeconomic conditions. The difference between the annual growth rates of air cargo and the global goods trade narrowed to -2.6 percentage points in May, representing the smallest gap since January 2022. However, the gap still suggests that air cargo continues to suffer more than container cargo from the slowdown in global trade.

Air cargo volumes for Asia-Pacific carriers fell 3.6 percent in June 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was likewise a decrease from May (-2.5 percent) attributable mostly to sluggish demand in intra-Asian markets, albeit the Asia-North America trade lane performed better.

Available capacity in the region increased by 24.4 percent compared to June 2022. Looking at the first half of 2023, cargo demand was down 6.5 percent versus the year-ago period against a 27.0 percent rise in capacity.

North American carriers had a 6.5 percent decrease in total cargo volumes in June 2023 compared to the same month in 2022, marking the fourth consecutive month in which the region had the weakest performance.

However, this was an improvement over May (-8.6 percent) Following three months of double-digit reductions, Europe-North America CTKs decreased by only 2.7 percent in June. Capacity has grown by 0.7 percent since June 2022. Cargo demand was down 10.5 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022, while capacity was down 0.7 percent.