PRESS ROOM

The U-Freight Group, which has a strong presence in the expedited international airfreight business, notes that the latest figures released by IATA show that February was the third consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year demand growth for air cargo.

Total air cargo demand for the month rose by 11.9% compared to February 2023 levels. The rise, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), comes as the market stabilises amid improved economic performance worldwide.

The trade body said that capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 13.4% compared to February 2023. This was due to the continued return of belly capacity.

The average load factor was down 0.6 percentage points to 45.1%.

“February’s demand growth of 11.9% far outpaced the 0.9% expansion in cross-border trade. This strong start for 2024 could see demand surpass the exceptionally high levels of early 2022. It also shows air cargo’s strong resilience in the face of continuing political and economic uncertainties,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

IATA further commented: “The growing air cargo demand is a reflection of buoyant international traffic which benefits from booming e-commerce and possibly, though to a lesser extent, a recently increased interest in sea-air services because of the ongoing capacity constraints in maritime shipping, among other factors.”

The organisation pointed out that the expansion in traffic continued to outpace year-on-year growth in trade and production figures.

Looking further at the economy, IATA said that February continued to signal a slight contraction for new export orders.

“The contracting new export orders are in line with the global shift towards a more inward-looking economic environment coupled with tight financial conditions, as well as potential concerns regarding the Red Sea Shipping Crisis.”

For more information about the U-Freight Group's global air freight forwarding and logistics services, please visit the relevant pages of this website or contact your local office, details of which can be seen here: https://www.ufreight.com/en/location.