Air cargo decline narrows in June but market ‘exceptionally challenging’

Air freight traffic declines showed some signs of improving in June but business remains “exceptionally challenging”, according to the latest IATA market wrap-up. The airline association’s latest data shows that air cargo demand in cargo tonne kilometre (CTK) terms declined by 17.6% year on year in June, which is a “modest” improvement on the 20.1% drop recorded in May. Over the first half of the year, demand was 14.5% down on a year ago. In contrast, load factors continued to improve during June and were up 11.5 percentage points on a year-ago at 57.3% as a result of capacity dropping by 34.1%. Much of the decline in capacity was down to the grounding of passenger services, which led to a 70% decline in bellyhold capacity, partially offset by a 32% increase in freighter capacity. IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac said that there were still challenges ahead for the industry. “Cargo is, by far, healthier than the passenger markets but doing business remains exceptionally challenging,” he said. “While economic activity is restarting after major lockdown disruptions there has not been a major boost in demand. The rush to get personal protective equipment (PPE) to market has subsided as supply chains regularised, enabling shippers to use cheaper sea and rail options. And the capacity crunch continues because passenger operations are recovering very slowly.”<br/>