June was the seventh consecutive month in which air cargo demand showed year-on-year (y-o-y) growth that was in double-digits, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. (IATA is the global representative body for the airline industry.) Total y-o-y demand last month grew by 14.1%, while the figure for international demand was 15.6%. Total air cargo capacity increased by 8.8%, y-o-y, while international capacity rose by 10.8%.

For the whole of the first half of this year, air cargo demand increased by 13.4%, y-o-y. First half 2024 cargo demand was also greater than in the same period during 2022 (by 4.3%) and even during record-breaking 2021 (by 0.02%).

“Air cargo demand surged in June,” highlighted IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “Strong growth across all regions and major trade lanes combined for a record-breaking first half performance in terms of [demand]. Maritime shipping constraints and a booming e-commerce sector are among the strongest growth drivers. Meanwhile, the sector has remained largely impervious to ongoing political and economic challenges, and the US customs crackdown on e-commerce deliveries from China. Air cargo looks to be on solid ground to continue its strong performance into the second half of 2024.”

Regarding external factors that affected air cargo, in June the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for global manufacturing output was 52.3, signalling growth. But the PMI for new export orders was 49.3, signalling a small contraction. Inflation in the EU stayed pretty stable, in month-on-month terms, at 2.6%, and the same was the case in Japan, with a figure of 2.8%. In the US, inflation fell to 3%, over the same period. But China’s inflation rate remained very low, at 0.3%, which reflected the weak domestic demand stemming from high unemployment, slow income growth, and the real estate sector crisis – these trends have persisted since last year. As for global cross-border trade, the most recent figure was for May, during which month it grew at 0.1%, month-on-month, while industrial production remained level over the same period.

In terms of the regions into which IATA divided the world, the one that saw the fastest y-o-y growth in total demand in June was the Asia-Pacific, at 17%. Cargo capacity in this region grew by 10.7%. Europe came next, with demand growth of 16.1%, while capacity increased by 9.1%. The Middle East occupied third place, with demand rising by 13.8% (and capacity increasing by 6.9%).

Next was Latin America, with demand strengthening by 13.1%, while regional capacity increased by 15.5%. Africa followed, with demand rising by 11.8%; however, on the Africa-Asia route demand soared 37.5%, which was the strongest performance among all the international trade routes. African air cargo capacity rose by 23.8%. Finally, North America experienced a demand increase of 9.5%, while capacity rose by 6%.