IATA optimistic on air cargo growth despite challenges

International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest reports suggested that the air cargo market will begin to improve in the coming months ahead, despite the current market challenges. In its latest market update, IATA said that air cargo demand dropped by 11.2% year on year in April, while cargo load factors slipped by 5.2 percentage points on a year ago to 51.6%, and capacity was down by 2%. The fall in demand is the largest since August 2020 and load factors are at their lowest level since February 2020, although still above pre-Covid levels. The airline association said in the reports that the drop in demand was fuelled by the war in Ukraine leading to a fall in cargo capacity used to serve Europe as several airlines based in Russia and Ukraine were key cargo players. “Global goods trade has continued to decline in 2022, with China’s economy growing more slowly because of Covid-19 related lockdowns (among other factors). The lockdowns have brought much of the world’s largest port, Shanghai, to a standstill. Supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict are also adding to the downward pressure on trade,” th reports added.