Africa’s 1.7% air cargo demand lags global pace in September – IATA

Following, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest analysis of the air cargo market in September, African airlines saw 1.7 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo, the slowest among regions.

Capacity increased by 13.9 percent year-on-year. Cargo load factor fell by -4.7 percentage points to 39.2 percent
ie. less than 40 percent of the available space was taken up by the market.

Africa accounts for 2.0 percent of the global air cargo market. Air cargo from Africa-Asia grew for the 13th consecutive month.

Globally, total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 9.4 percent compared to September 2023 levels (10.5 percent for international operations) for a 14th consecutive month of growth.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 6.4 percent compared to September 2023 (8.1 percent for international operations). This continued to be largely related to the growth in international belly capacity, which rose 10.3 percent–extending the trend of double-digit annual capacity growth to 41 consecutive months.

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“September performance brought continued good news for air cargo markets. With 9.4 percent year-on-year growth, cargo volumes continued to mark all-time highs for demand. Yields are also improving, up 11.7 percent on 2023 and 50 percent above 2019 levels. All this points to a strong finish for this year. For longer-term trends, the air cargo world will be closely following the outcome of the US election for indications of how US trade policy will evolve,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Year-on-year, industrial production rose 1.6 percent while global goods trade increased 2.8 percent for a sixth consecutive month of growth. Monthly trade grew by 1.4 percent, the highest in seven months.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) for global manufacturing output, and the PMI for new export orders, were both below the 50-mark at 49.4 and 47.5 respectively, indicating contraction.

US headline inflation, based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined by 0.2 percentage points to 2.4 percent in September, marking the seventh straight month of easing inflation.

In the same month, the inflation rate in the EU fell by 0.3 percentage points to 2.1 percent, continuing a process started in January 2023. China’s consumer inflation remained low at 0.4 percent in September amid concerns of an economic slowdown.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 11.7 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in September. Capacity increased by 8.5 percent year-on-year.

North American carriers saw 3.8 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in September. Capacity increased by 4.2 percent year-on-year.

European carriers saw 11.7 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in September. Capacity increased 7.5 percent year-on-year.

Middle Eastern carriers saw 10.1 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in September. Capacity increased 2.9 percent year-on-year.