The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for September 2024 global air cargo markets showing continuing strong annual growth in demand.

Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 9.4% compared to September 2023 levels (10.5% for international operations) for a 14th consecutive month of growth.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 6.4% compared to September 2023 (8.1% for international operations). This continued to be largely related to the growth in international belly capacity, which rose 10.3%–extending the trend of double-digit annual capacity growth to 41 consecutive months.

โ€œSeptember performance brought continued good news for air cargo markets. With 9.4% year-on-year growth, cargo volumes continued to mark all-time highs for demand. Yields are also improving, up 11.7% on 2023 and 50% above 2019 levels. All this points to a strong finish for this year. For longer-term trends, the air cargo world will be closely following the outcome of the US election for indications of how US trade policy will evolve,โ€ said Willie Walsh, IATAโ€™s Director General.

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

  • Year-on-year, industrial production rose 1.6% while global goods trade increased 2.8% for a sixth consecutive month of growth. Monthly trade grew by 1.4%, the highest in seven months.
  • The Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) for global manufacturing output, and the PMI for new export orders, were both below the 50-mark at 49.4 and 47.5 respectively, indicating contraction.
  • US headline inflation, based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined by 0.2 percentage points to 2.4% in September, marking the seventh straight month of easing inflation. In the same month, the inflation rate in the EU fell by 0.3 percentage points to 2.1%, continuing a process started in January 2023. Chinaโ€™s consumer inflation remained low at 0.4% in September amid concerns of an economic slowdown.

 

More detailed report at https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2024-releases/2024-10-31-01/