Regional carriers witness 15% decrease in cargo volumes

Regional carriers witness 15% decrease in cargo volumes

Muscat: Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 15.0 per cent year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in October 2022. This was a marginal improvement to the previous month (-15.8 per cent). Stagnant cargo volumes to/from Europe impacted the region’s performance. Capacity increased by 1.0 per cent compared to October 2021.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for October 2022 global air cargo markets showing that headwinds continue to affect air cargo demand.

Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs*), fell 13.6 per cent compared to October 2021 (-13.5 per cent for international operations).

Capacity was 0.6 per cent below October 2021. This was the first year-on-year contraction since April 2022, however, month-on-month capacity increased by 2.4 per cent in preparation for the year-end peak season. International cargo capacity grew 2.4 per cent compared to October 2021.

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

New export orders, a leading indicator of cargo demand, are shrinking in all markets except China and South Korea, which registered slightly higher new export orders in October.

Latest global goods trade figures showed a 5.6 per cent expansion in September, a positive sign for the global economy. This is expected to primarily benefit maritime cargo, with a slight boost to