The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released “data for March 2024 global air cargo markets showing continuing strong annual growth in demand.”
According to the data, African airlines saw “14.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March.” IATA says “demand on Africa–Asia market increased to 22.9%, however this was a 19.8 ppt decrease compared to February’s performance and the largest contraction across the major route areas. March capacity increased by 17.3% year-on-year.”
IATA says the “Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), rose by 10.3% compared to March 2023 levels (11.4% for international operations). This is the fourth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth.” While “Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 7.3% compared to March 2023 (10.5% for international operations).”
IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said: “Air cargo demand grew by 10.3% over the previous March. This contributed to a strong first quarter performance which slightly exceeded even the exceptionally strong 2021 first quarter performance during the COVID crisis. With global cross-border trade and industrial production continuing to show a moderate upward trend, 2024 is shaping up to be a solid year for air cargo.”
Air Cargo Market in Detail
| MARCH 2024 (%YEAR-ON-YEAR) | WORLD SHARE *1 | CTK | ACTK | CLF (%-PT) *2 | CLF (LEVEL) *3 |
| Total Market | 100% | 10.3% | 7.3% | 1.3% | 47.3% |
| Africa | 2.0% | 14.2% | 17.3% | -1.3% | 47.3% |
| Asia Pacific | 33.3% | 14.3% | 14.3% | 0.0% | 47.5% |
| Europe | 21.4% | 10.0% | 8.0% | 1.0% | 58.1% |
| Latin America | 2.8% | 9.2% | 7.0% | 0.8% | 40.2% |
| Middle East | 13.5% | 19.9% | 10.2% | 3.9% | 49.6% |
| North America | 26.9% | 0.9% | -1.9% | 1.1% | 40.4% |
(*1) % of industry CTKs in 2023 (*2) Year-on-year change in load factor (*3) Load factor level