Author Name: Dion Suen

According to the latest statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the recovery of air cargo volumes in September accelerated slightly, and this improvement is expected to continue throughout the peak season. At the same time, American Airlines reported that demand has increased for the first time in 10 months. Air freight volume in ton-kilometers fell by 8% in September from the same period last year, which was an improvement from the 12.1% drop in August. In September this year, the industry-wide cargo load factor (CLF) hit a record high, up 10.6 percentage points from the same period last year to 56.9%. At the same time, global capacity, measured in available tonnage kilometers (ACTKs), fell by 25.2% in September, a slight improvement from the 29.4% drop in August. Due to the activities promoted by e-commerce (Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Christmas) in the next two months, as well as the release of the new iPhone and PlayStation 5, freight demand is expected to improve further. The association also stated that it expects global merchandise trade to continue to improve before the end of this year. According to the conclusions drawn by the World Trade Organization, the association revised its forecast for annual trade contraction in 2020 from -12.9% to -9.2%. In the performance of the Asia-Pacific region in September, the freight volume of airlines in the Asia-Pacific region fell 15.9% year-on-year, while the decline in August was 20.1%. Capacity fell by 29.5%, an improvement from the 33.5% drop in August. North American airlines' freight demand in September increased by 8.6% year-on-year, the first positive growth in 10 months, while capacity fell by 15%. The International Air Transport Association stated that this was due to the increase in e-commerce demand on the Asia-North America trade route. Demand from European freight forwarders continued to gradually improve in September. Compared with the 18.9% drop in August, September sales fell 15.4% year-on-year. Capacity also dropped by 31.8%. Latin American airlines’ air freight demand is “still sluggish,” with CTKs falling by 22.5% year-on-year in September. Capacity also dropped by 36.5%. Africa-based airlines are a "small and changeable market," and demand in September increased by 8.2% year-on-year. Capacity dropped by 28.1%. The International Air Transport Association pointed out: “It is the Africa-Asia trade route that is driving the region’s recovery, which is due to China’s injecting solid foreign investment into the region.”   Source: http://ow.ly/WGWj50CeVRt