air cargo outlook

Airport congestion blamed for peak season drop in air cargo volume

Sideview of back half of a big jet being loaded with cargo on a sunny day.

Global air cargo volumes paradoxically declined in November amid intense shipping demand during the height of the preholiday peak shipping season, yet freight rates jumped higher and planes were more full. 

Blame the disconnect between a red-hot airfreight market and less cargo moved on extreme congestion at major airports, where a shortage of labor among airline service providers is slowing aircraft loading and unloading as well as freight deconsolidation of imports for pickup.

Analytics firm...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/airport-congestion-blamed-for-peak-season-drop-in-air-cargo-volume

IATA forecasts 2021 air cargo revenues to hit record $175B

A white plane taking off, approach camera with underside visibile.

The air cargo market is soaring this year and 2022 is looking even better. The International Air Transport Association on Monday estimated that cargo volume for airlines will grow 7.9% in 2021 compared to 2019 and demand will heat up to 13.2% above pre-pandemic levels next year. 

Cargo revenues are expected to reach a record $175 billion in 2021, an upward revision of $23 billion from April, and stay near that level at $169 billion in 2022 as cargo yields soften from 15% to 7% growth. Airlines...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/iata-forecasts-2021-air-cargo-revenues-to-hit-record-175b

How much money have airlines lost so far in 2021?

A yellow Spirit Airlines plane and two small United Airlines jets taxi around an airport.

Financial losses for the global airline industry were sequentially smaller in the second quarter, but growing corporate optimism for the next 12 months isn’t shared by all as the COVID-19 delta variant undermines economic reopening and travel in many regions.

Airlines collectively lost $6.9 billion in the April-May period in 2021 compared to $14.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association. Leading the recovery were U.S....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-much-money-have-airlines-lost-so-far-in-2021

Growth in air cargo volume hits 4-year high

A white plane takes off with view facing the aircraft.

Air cargo volumes increased 9.9% in June, capping the strongest annual first half for carriers since 2017 and giving the industry momentum heading into the traditional holiday shipping season, the International Air Transport Association reported Wednesday.

The news was less sanguine for companies that ship goods and are looking for more space in a crowded market. A large portion of the lift they need comes from passenger aircraft, with cargo riding in the lower deck. Passenger capacity...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/growth-in-air-cargo-volume-hits-4-year-high

Companies in desperate hunt for aircraft to move cargo

A forklift driver with a pallet, airfreight containers in a row and an aircraft in the background.

The airfreight market is so saturated that companies without precommitments, or the stomach to pay premiums, are having difficulty finding aircraft to move their goods. And import cargo keeps coming, on top of record volumes for air and ocean shipping, further straining an air logistics system stretched by a shortage of equipment and airport labor.

Logistics professionals and analysts say capacity is rapidly tightening as more shippers turn to air for cross-border transport, sending air cargo...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/companies-in-desperate-hunt-for-aircraft-to-move-cargo

Airlines to lose $48B despite banner year for cargo

Brown tail of UPS jet in foreground, cargo containers and American Airlines cargo warehouse in background.

Airlines will rake in record-high cargo revenues in 2021 on double-digit growth in shipping demand, but lose $47.7 billion because of weak air travel as most countries struggle with controlling virus variants and vaccinating populations, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday.

The trade group downgraded its outlook from December, when it projected a $38 billion loss, with the net profit margin falling to minus 10.4% from minus 7.1%. The revised forecast represents a big...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airlines-to-lose-48b-despite-banner-year-for-cargo

Bargain hunters beware: No time to shop for airfreight deals

Wing of a plane viewed from behind the plane, with cargo being loaded in side door.

Businesses requiring air transport to move goods are putting on their big boy pants as they accept the harsh reality of the air cargo market in 2021: If you want to play, you have to pay.

Volatility and uncertainty are the watchwords for the air cargo sector, but analysts and logistics professionals say extremely tight capacity and elevated freight rates are here to stay for the rest of the year, with none of the usual doldrums until the fall holiday rush. And finding aircraft with cargo slots...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/bargain-hunters-beware-no-time-to-shop-for-airfreight-deals

Air cargo 2021: The good, the bad and the ugly

A white and green plane loading pallets of cargo through side door.

The air cargo industry has officially recovered from the depths of the pandemic, with volumes in January 1.1% above the 2019 level. The bad news, according to the International Air Transport Association, is that freight capacity lost ground for the first time since April, dropping 5% on a monthly basis, because passenger airlines pulled back on flight activity in response to COVID outbreaks and widespread travel restrictions.

The amount of available airlift for cargo in January was 19.5% less...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-2021-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

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