Air Cargo Demand Down 3.3% in January 2020
04 March 2020 (Geneva) – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for
global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in cargo tonne kilometers (*CTKs),
decreased by 3.3% in January 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.
” January marked the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in cargo volumes. The
air cargo industry started the year on a weak footing. There was optimism that an easing of US-
China trade tensions would give the sector a boost in 2020. But that has been overtaken by the
COVID-19 outbreak, which has severely disrupted global supply chains, although it did not have
a major impact on January’s cargo performance. Tough times are ahead. The course of future
events is unclear, but this is a sector that has proven its resilience time and again,” said
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
Cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometers (ACTKs), rose by 0.9% year-on-
year in January 2020. Capacity growth has now outstripped demand growth for 21 consecutive
months.
It is unlikely that the COVID-19 outbreak had very much to do with January’s weak
performance. Lunar New Year in 2020 was earlier than in 2019. This skewed 2020 numbers
towards weakness as many Chinese manufacturers would be closed for the holiday period.
February performance will give a better picture of how COVID-19 is impacting global air cargo.

Regional Performance
Airlines in Asia-Pacific and Europe suffered sharp declines in year-on-year growth in total air
cargo volumes in January 2020, while North American and Middle East carriers experienced a
more moderate decline. Latin America and Africa were the only regions to record growth in air
freight demand compared to January 2019.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for air cargo contract by 5.9% in January 2020, compared to
the year-earlier period. This was the sharpest drop in freight demand of any region for the
month. Capacity growth was flat. Seasonally-adjusted cargo demand rose slightly however,
following the thawing of US-China trade relations. The impact from COVID-19 is expected to
affect February’s performance.
North American airlines saw demand decrease by 1.3% in January 2020, compared to the
same period a year earlier. Capacity increased by 3.4%. Seasonally-adjusted cargo demand
rose slightly however, amid a more supportive operating environment and following the thawing
of US-China trade relations.
European airlines posted a 3.7% decrease in cargo demand in January 2020 compared to the
same period a year earlier – more than double the 1.3%% drop in year-on-year demand in
December. Seasonally-adjusted demand also dropped sharply, disrupting the positive trend that
started mid-2019. Capacity decreased by 3.0% year-on-year.
Middle Eastern airlines’ cargo volumes decreased 1.4% in January 2020 compared to the
year-ago period. Capacity increased by 2.9%. Against a backdrop of operational and
geopolitical challenges facing some of the region’s key airlines, seasonally-adjusted freight
volumes ticked down in January, but a modest upwards trend has been sustained. However,
given the Middle East’s position connecting trade between China and the rest of the world, the
region’s carriers have significant exposure to the impact of COVID-19 in the period ahead.

Latin American airlines experienced an increase in freight demand in January 2020 of 1.4%
compared to January 2019 – reversing the 2.5% decrease in December. Seasonally-adjusted
freight volumes in the region also ticked upwards, underpinned by new route connections, which
is a positive development for the region’s carriers. Capacity increased by 2.4% year-on-year.
African carriers posted the fastest growth of any region for the 11 th consecutive month in
January 2020, with an increase in demand of 6.8% compared to the same period a year earlier.
Growth on the smaller Africa-Asia trade lanes (up 12.4% in 2019) contributed to the positive
performance. Capacity grew 5.9% year-on-year.

• IATA –

For more information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org

Notes for Editors:
 Please note that as of January 2020 onwards, we have clarified the terminology of the
Industry and Regional series from ‘Freight’ to ‘Cargo’ (the corresponding metrics being
FTK (change to ‘CTK’), AFTK (change to ‘ACTK’), and FLF (change to ‘CLF’)), in order
to reflect that the series have been consisting of Cargo (Freight plus Mail) rather than
Freight. The data series themselves have not been changed. Airline individual data
retain the FTK metric.
 IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 290 airlines comprising
82% of global air traffic.
 You can follow us at twitter.com/iata for announcements, policy positions, and other
useful industry information.
 Explanation of measurement terms:
o CTK: cargo tonne kilometers measures actual freight traffic
o ACTK: available cargo tonne kilometers measures available total freight capacity
o CLF: freight load factor is % of ACTKs used
 IATA statistics cover international and domestic scheduled air freight for IATA member
and non-member airlines.
 Total freight traffic market shares by region of carriers in terms of CTK are: Asia-Pacific
34.5%, Europe 23.6%, North America 24.3%, Middle East 13.0%, Latin America 2.8%,
and Africa 1.8%.