IATA releases data on global air freight market

 Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has  released data for global air freight markets for the last two months,  showing that freight volumes improved compared to three months  but remain depressed compared to 2019.

According to the global airlines’ regulator,  capacity remained  constrained from the loss of available belly cargo space as passenger aircraft remain parked on account of the Covid -19 pandemic .

Global demand, according to IATA, which is measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was 6.6 per cent  below previous year levels in , 7.7 per cent for  international operations.

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IATA said the figure  was at  par with the 6.2  per cent year-on-year drop as at three months ago.

The year-on-year decline, the global body said, was  skewed as of  November 2019, when it recorded a boost in demand from the waning US-China trade war.

Seasonally adjusted demand (SA CTKs), the body said, continued to improve, increasing 1.6 per cent  month-on-month as of  November 2020.

IATA said  the month-on-month gains indicate that  seasonal adjusted cargo tonnage kilometers would return to 2019 levels around March or April, this year.