The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says its seasonally adjusted cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) expanded slightly, up by 0.3% in May from April, marking a welcome respite after two consecutive months of decline.
According to it, this is compared with a year ago, May CTKs were 8.3% lower, a slight improvement from the 9.1% drop year-on-year (YoY) in April.
“The result has been supported by an increase in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs) of 2.7% in May YoY,’’ it said in a recent report.
IATA noted that disruptions to supply still exist though the situation has improved significantly.
It said that notably, the lockdowns in China due to the Omicron wave have been eased. While other regions experienced some contraction in volumes, carriers in Asia Pacific have countered earlier declines with a 3.1% increase in May compared with April.
IATA explained that the coming months will see, on the one hand, capacity constraints easing as some regions bring capacity online and, on the other hand, downward pressure on demand will likely increase as inflation remained elevated.
It said that CTK volumes stabilize in May Industry-wide cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) were down 8.3% in May YoY.
“This is a slight improvement on the April decline of 9.1% YoY, signaling a modest easing of supply chain and capacity issues that are impacting air cargo operations.
“The recent declines in seasonally adjusted (SA) air cargo volumes paused in May, with a 0.3% expansion compared with April (MoM).
“This is a welcome respite after two consecutive months of falling air cargo volumes, which lead to a 7% contraction between February and April 2022.
“Global CTKs seasonally adjusted (SA) China has eased the lockdowns imposed in response to the Omicron wave and although disruptions to supply still exist, the situation has improved,’’ the report said.
IATA, however, said the war in Ukraine still impairs capacity used to serve Europe, as several airlines based in Ukraine and Russia were crucial carriers in the region.
According to it, trade activity has also rebounded slightly as supply constraints ease Global goods trade rebounded somewhat in April thanks to strong volumes in emerging regions such as Latin America.
“We expect this trend to continue as China’s easing of anti-virus restrictions allowed industrial centers to reopen in May and June.
“Moreover, the recent improvement in supply chain constraints should also support growth in global manufactured goods trade going forward, partly reversing the weakening trend seen so far in 2022.
“This, in turn, would signal growing demand for air cargo in the next months’’.
