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Air cargo sees record growth in demand for the year 2024

Air cargo sees record growth in demand for the year 2024
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Anton Grove Senior Vice President, People, Performance & Development (PPD) | International Air Transport Association - IATA

The air cargo industry experienced significant growth in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), increased by 11.3% compared to the previous year, surpassing record levels set in 2021. International operations saw a slightly higher increase of 12.2%. Capacity also rose by 7.4%, with international capacity growing by 9.6%.

Despite an average yield decrease of 1.6% from 2023, yields were still considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, showing a 39% increase.

Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General, commented on the performance: "Air cargo was the standout performer in 2024 with airlines moving more air cargo than ever before. Importantly, it was a year of profitable growth."

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Looking ahead to this year, IATA predicts that growth will moderate to align with historical performance at around 5.8%. Walsh noted potential challenges due to geopolitical shifts and policy tools like tariffs which could affect trade and inflation.

Economic indicators from December reflect mixed signals for global trade and manufacturing output with PMI indexes below critical thresholds indicating declines.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific airlines led demand growth at 14.5%, while North America saw the lowest regional demand increase at 6.6%. The strongest monthly growth was observed within Latin America for December at a rate of 10.9%.

Trade lanes showed varying results; Asia-North America routes maintained strong momentum with eight percent growth over fourteen consecutive months.

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