Middle Eastern carriers see 19.9% demand growth for air cargo

Muscat: Middle Eastern carriers saw 19.9 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March – the strongest of all regions, according to a new report.

“The Middle East–Europe market was the strongest performing with 38.3 percent growth, ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 19.6 percent year-on-year. March capacity increased 10.6 percent year-on-year,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its latest released data for March 2024.

The report further indicates that global air cargo markets are showing strong annual growth in demand.
“The total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), rose by 10.3 percent compared to March 2023 levels (11.4 percent for international operations). This is the fourth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth,” the IATA report said.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), increased by 7.3 percent compared to March 2023 (10.5 percent for international operations).

"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,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“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," he further added.

March regional performance
Asia-Pacific Airlines saw 14.3 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March. Demand for the Asia-Europe route grew by 2.7 percent to 17 percent and the within Asia market grew by 6.7 percent to 11.8 percent. Capacity increased by 14.3 percent year-on-year, the IATA report said.

North American carriers saw 0.9 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March —the weakest among all regions. Demand on the North America–Europe trade lane grew by 2.9 percent year-on-year while Asia–North America grew by 4.7 percent year-on-year. March capacity decreased by -1.9 percent year-on-year.

European carriers saw 10 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March. Intra-European air cargo rose by 24.7 percent year-on-year. Europe–Middle East routes saw demand grow by 38.3 percent year-on-year, while Europe–North America expanded by 2.9 percent year-on-year. March capacity increased 8 percent year-on-year, the IATA report said.

Latin American carriers saw 9.2 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March. Capacity increased 7 percent year-on-year.

African airlines saw 14.2 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March. Demand in Africa–Asia market increased to 22.9 percent, however, this was a 19.8 percent decrease compared to February’s performance and the largest contraction across the major route areas. March capacity increased by 17.3 percent year-on-year, the IATA report said.