Air cargo demand on the way up in October but too early to get the full picture

Is air cargo on a rebound? That’s the question after IATA reports the third consecutive month with growth of global demand measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK). October was up 3.8 percent year on year, which follows 1.9 percent in September and 1.5 percent in August. This follows months of contracted capacity. While improving, the picture is not consistent and varies by region.

The strongest growth was evident in the Middle East, improving 10.9 percent compared to October 2022. Capacity was up by 15 percent year on year. The region benefitted from strong demand for the Middle East to Asia network and the Middle East to Europe, said IATA. This confirms what Mustafa Irfan Dahnkot

, Vaayu Group’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, told AirInsight at the recent Dubai Airshow: the Middle East is booming.

The picture hasn’t always been that strong. In September, CTKs in the Middle East were up only 2.5 percent year on year, well behind the Asia Pacific region at 7.7 percent. August saw only 1.4 percent growth. In January, CTKs were at -11.8 percent and hit even -13.1 percent year on year in March. June was the first month of growth, albeit at just 0.5 percent.