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Cargo & Storage News South Africa

News Logistics & Transport Cargo & Storage

Global air cargo tonnages, average rates stabilise

According to the latest weekly figures from WorldACD Market Data, global air cargo tonnages and average rates seem to have stabilised since mid-April. This comes after a sharp drop in chargeable weight in the first week of April and a gradual decline in worldwide average rates since February. Figures from 17-23 April show a stabilisation in tonnages and a slight increase in average global air cargo prices week-on-week, based on data covering over 400,000 weekly transactions by WorldACD.
Image source:
Image source: Gallo/Getty

Comparing the preceding two weeks, overall tonnages decreased by -5% versus their combined total in March, and average worldwide rates decreased by -3%, with stable capacity.

At a regional level, the downward trend in air cargo tonnages is visible from most of the main origin regions, particularly flows ex-Europe – most notably to Africa (-21%), Middle East and South Asia (-16%), Central and South America (-13%), and Asia Pacific (-11%). The lanes between North America and Central and South America are the only significant exceptions, with the biggest increase ex-Central & South America to North America (+18%).

In terms of pricing, average rates show a slightly positive trend ex-Central and South America to North America (+3%) and ex-Europe to Africa (+3%); but for all other major air cargo lanes, rates have been decreasing, with the most significant drop seen from North America to Central & South America (-7%).

Year-on-year perspective

Comparing the overall global market with this time last year, chargeable weight in the early weeks of April was down -10% compared with the equivalent period last year. Most notable is the decrease in year-on-year tonnages ex-North America (-21%), while the only other double-digit percent year-on-year drop in tonnages is outbound from Europe (-10%).

Overall capacity jumped by +13% compared with the previous year, with double-digit percentage increases from almost all regions – except from North America (+6%), and Central & South America (+2%). The most notable increases were ex-Asia Pacific (+36%) and ex-Africa (+15%).

Worldwide rates are currently -37% below their levels this time last year, at an average of US$2.56 per kilo in week 16, despite the effects of higher fuel surcharges, although they remain significantly above pre-Covid levels.

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