The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global representative body for the airline industry, has reported that 2024 was a record year for air cargo, beating the previous record year of 2021.

Total air cargo demand last year was 11.3% up, year-on-year (y-o-y). International cargo demand rose 12.2%. Cargo capacity for the whole of 2024 increased by 7.4%, again y-o-y, with international capacity going up 9.6%.

Yields, however, declined slightly, by –1.6%, y-o-y, but they were 39% up on the figure for 2019.

“Air cargo was the standout performer in 2024, with airlines moving more air cargo than ever before,” highlighted IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “Demand, up 11.3% [y-o-y], was boosted by particularly strong e-commerce and various ocean shipping restrictions. This combined with airspace restrictions, which limited capacity on some key long-haul routes to Asia, helped to keep yields at exceptionally high levels. While average yields continued to soften from peaks in 2021–2022 they averaged 39% higher than 2019.”

In terms of the background economic factors affecting air cargo, during last year the global goods trade increased by 3.6%.

Regarding the performance of IATA’s regions, the one that saw the strongest cargo demand growth last year was the Asia-Pacific, at 14.5%. It was followed by the Middle East (13%), Latin America (12.6%), Europe (11.2%), Africa (8.5%) and North America (6.6%).

At the same time, IATA also released the air cargo data for the month of December 2024. Total demand in that month was up 6.1%, y-o-y, with the equivalent increase for international demand being 7%. Global cargo capacity rose by 3.7%, and international capacity by 5.2%, y-o-y, in December. Cargo yields in that month were up 6.6%, y-o-y, and had rocketed by 53.4% in comparison to December 2019.

As for background economic factors in December, the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was 49.2, while the new export orders PMI was 48.2. That both were below the 50-point mark indicated a decline in both areas of the global economy. Regarding inflation in December, US Consumer Price Index (CPI) headline inflation increased by 0.2 percentage points (ppt) to 2.9%, while the figure for the EU also increased by 0.2 ppt, to 2.7%. In China, CPI headline inflation decreased by 0.1 ppt, to 0.1%. This was the fourth month in a row which recorded a y-o-y fall in inflation, increasing anxieties about an economic slowdown.

The IATA region which saw the strongest y-o-y demand growth in December was Latin America, at 10.9%. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific (8.4%), North America (5.3%), Europe (5.1%) and the Middle East (3.3%). Africa actually recorded a slight decline in demand, of 0.9%.

For this year, IATA expects air cargo growth to decelerate to 5.8%, which would be in line with its historical performance.

“Economic fundamentals point to another good year for air cargo – with oil prices on a downward trajectory and trade continuing to grow,” pointed out Walsh. “There is no doubt, however, that the air cargo industry will be challenged to adapt to unfolding geopolitical shifts. The first week of the [US President Donald] Trump administration demonstrated its strong interest in using tariffs as a policy tool that could bring a double whammy for air cargo – boosting inflation and deflating trade.”