IATA forecasts 5% increase in global cargo revenue in 2019

IATA is signalling that global cargo revenue is forecast to rise more than 5% year-over-year to $116b in 2019, driven in part by a continued robust (albeit slower) global economic outlook as well as the recent substantial fall in oil prices. According to IATA chief economist Brian Pearce, cargo volumes are forecast to grow 3.7% in 2019, a little slower than 2018 considering trade pressures but still positive. “We expect expansion to continue in 2019,” Pearce said. The cargo business, IATA said, has made a large contribution to airline revenues in the past three years, helping to offset falling base fares. “Next year we estimate that cargo revenues of over $116 billion will represent more than 13% of airline revenues,” Pearce said. In the last year, airlines have added over 1,300 new city pair connections, bringing the total to more than 21,000 connections, an increase of available lanes—along which trade, global supply chains and air cargo flow—that have more than doubled in the past 20 years.<br/>