26 October 2024

August 2024 was the ninth consecutive month of double-digit growth in global air cargo demand.

This is the latest report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Accordingly, total global air freight demand increased by 11.4%, of which total cargo capacity in August 2024 reached an all-time high, up 6.2% year-on-year. The increase in capacity was mainly the result of increased capacity to provide cargo space on aircraft, up 10.9% year-on-year. In terms of IATA's six regions, the region with the strongest growth in total air freight demand was Asia-Pacific, with an increase of 14.6%. Next was Latin America, then Europe and the Middle East.

However, in terms of transport capacity, the region with the largest increase was Africa (11.4%), followed by Europe (9.4%). Asia-Pacific ranked third (8.6%), followed by Latin America (8%), the Middle East (4%) and North America (2.4%)

IATA Director General Willie Walsh affirmed: "We continue to see very good news in the air transport market. The sector recorded its second consecutive month of record high demand this year. Even with record capacity levels, productivity was up 11.7% compared to 2023, 2% compared to the previous month and 46% higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. This strong performance was supported by slow but steady growth in global trade, booming e-commerce and ongoing capacity constraints for ocean freight."