The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revised its outlook for the airline cargo industry in 2024, reflecting stronger than expected performance.
- Revenue: IATA now projects cargo revenues to reach $120 billion in 2024, up from their previous forecast of $111 billion. This is still lower than the peak of $210 billion reached in 2021 but remains above pre-pandemic levels of $101 billion in 2019.
- Volume: Cargo volumes are also expected to grow by 5% compared to the earlier forecast of 4.5%. This growth is attributed to factors like strong e-commerce demand, particularly on routes out of Asia, and modal shift due to disruptions like the Red Sea crisis.
- Yield: While demand is robust, cargo yields (revenue per unit) are still expected to decline by 17.5% in 2024. This is a normalization from the extraordinary highs seen during the pandemic and is partially due to the significant belly capacity that returned to the market as passenger travel recovered.
Overall, the air cargo market is undergoing a period of correction after the exceptional year of 2021. While performance won’t match the pandemic peak, it is still on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels.
Source: AirCargo News