African airlines’ cargo volumes decreased by 8.3 per cent in October 2022
compared to October 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.
This was contained in the data for October 2022 global air cargo markets released yesterday, showing that headwinds continue to affect air cargo demand.
This was a significant decrease in the growth recorded the previous month (0.1%). Capacity was 7.4% below October 2021 levels as the data revealed even as the US dollar appreciation also compounded the woes of players in the air cargo value chain.
According to the data, Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 13.6% compared to October 2021 (-13.5% for international operations).
The data further showed that capacity was 0.6% below October 2021. This was the first year-on-year contraction since April 2022.
The report identified several factors like 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.”
In addition, the US dollar has seen a sharp appreciation, with the broad real effective exchange rate in September 2022 reaching the highest level since 1986.
The Nigerian cargo market for instance was said to be affected during the month under review as the dollar-to-naira exchange rate reached an all-time high of 900/$.
This, analysts say, affected the volume of cargoes out of the country as scarcity of the foreign currency worsened.
IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, said, “Air cargo continues to demonstrate resilience as headwinds persist. Cargo demand in October — while tracking below the exceptional performance of October 2021– saw a 3.5% increase in demand compared to September.”
