Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand for air cargo decreased by 10.6% in 2020, compared to 2019. This was the largest drop in year-on-year demand since IATA started to monitor cargo performance in 1990, outpacing the 6% fall in global trade in goods.
- Global demand in 2020, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), was 10.6% below 2019 levels (-11.8% for international operations).
- Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 23.3% in 2020 (‑24.1% for international operations) compared to 2019. This was more than double the contraction in demand.
- Due to the lack of available capacity, cargo load factors rose 7.7% in 2020. This contributed to increased yields and revenues, providing support to airlines and some long-haul passenger services in the face of collapsed passenger revenues.
- Improvements towards yearend were demonstrated in December when global…