IATA outlook for airline industry recovery slides to 2024

A cargo tug drops off a load next to a Cathay Pacific jet. The air cargo business in June was down a fifth from last year's level.

The International Air Transport Association on Tuesday pushed back by a year its estimate for the airline industry to fully recover from the novel coronavirus and said the air cargo market’s modest improvement in June still lagged growth in manufacturing output and trade.

The airline group downgraded its forecast for global passenger traffic and revenues, saying it will not return to last year’s levels until 2024 because a COVID-19 resurgence in several countries, depressed corporate travel and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/iata-outlook-for-airline-industry-recovery-slides-to-2024

United Airlines goes on cargo tear

Hydraulic lift platform lifts cargo pallets to door of United Airlines jet. United Airlines has figured out how to make money off of cargo during the pandemic.

Airlines have touted how much dedicated cargo flying they’re doing with transformed passenger planes, but United Airlines is the only major U.S. carrier where cargo is boosting the bottom line during the COVID pandemic.

United’s second-quarter earnings last week included an eye-popping 36.3% increase in cargo revenue to $402 million. Cargo-ton-miles were up 40.3% to 496 million. Even more impressive is the fact that cargo revenue represented 27.3% of the company’s total operating revenue...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/united-airlines-goes-on-cargo-tear

Airfreight rates expected to shoot up by September

A white and red Austrian Airlines plane, viewed from the side on a sunny day. The reduced number of passenger planes in the skies has reduced space for carrying cargo.

Stability in the airfreight market may be short-lived, with outbound China rates rising this month and big high-tech product launches poised to soak up cargo aircraft in several weeks. That could pinch some shippers that currently view air transport as a refuge from unreliable and expensive ocean shipping, freight transportation specialists say.

The price of shipping by air has dropped about 70% since the spring, when capacity shortages were rampant because of surging medical-supply orders, but...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airfreight-rates-expected-to-shoot-up-by-september

Brussels Airport bucks trend with June rise in cargo volume

A white and red Virgin Atlantic plane takes off from Brussels Airport. The airport saw positive cargo growth in June for the first time since February.

A huge flow of all-cargo aircraft flown by independent operators combined with heightened activity from integrated logistics providers UPS and DHL, pushed Brussels Airport’s cargo volume into positive territory in June after three months of steep declines caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s a positive sign for a hub airport that normally depends on passenger traffic.

Brussels Airport Co., which operates the airport, reported Wednesday that cargo volume increased 4.8% in June, year-over-year,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/brussels-airport-bucks-trend-with-june-rise-in-cargo-volume

Airline 1H cargo revenues grew despite drop in volume

Cargo pallets on a lift platform being loaded in the side of a large plane. Airlines carried fewer loads in the first six months, but made more money because they could charge much more.

Air cargo throughput shrank more than 18% in the first half of 2020, but revenue from airline cargo operations grew almost 21% because the scarcity of available aircraft led to significantly higher rates, according to data compiled by World ACD.

The figures dovetail with a June estimate from the International Air Transport Association that global cargo revenues will increase $8 billion from last year despite a 16.8% decrease in tonnage associated with decreased economic activity caused by the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airline-1h-cargo-revenues-grew-despite-drop-in-volume

Outbound airfreight market tightens from China, Hong Kong

Cargo pallets come off a the rear door of a big cargo plane. China cargo capacity is shrinking and rates are going back up, according to the latest data.

Airfreight rates out of China are beginning to creep up again and there are signs the cost to ship goods to North America and Europe could quickly escalate again as shippers flock to air transport while the supply of aircraft falls.

A confluence of factors associated with a resurgent coronavirus, ocean freight dynamics, Hong Kong health safety rules and operational issues at all-cargo operators is causing the Chinese airfreight market to tighten, according to market researchers and logistics...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/outbound-airfreight-market-tightens-from-china-hong-kong

Russian airline completes massive airlift of medical supplies for France

The French government has ended a massive airlift of medical supplies from China to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus after stockpiles were deemed sufficient.

Over the past three months, Russian carrier Volga-Dnepr operated 48 Antonov-124 freighter flights to deliver 3,000 tons of medical supplies. French logistics firm Geodis coordinated the operation.

The Cold War-era AN-124s, which were built in Ukraine, are the largest commercial cargo aircraft in use and are normally associated...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/russian-airline-completes-massive-airlift-of-medical-supplies-for-france

Air cargo market: Rationality returns, but for how long?

Big silver jet with pallets of cargo next to it on the ground.

Current and lagging indicators show the air cargo market is continuing to stabilize after a three-month bubble that saw transport rates quintuple for China export routes. Despite the apparent slow-down in shipments of personal protective equipment, shortages of face masks and other medical supplies at U.S. hospitals could make the correction short-lived.

Air freight volumes are picking up as the recovery in global economic activity spurs cross-border trade in more typical goods for manufacturers...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/air-cargo-market-rationality-returns-but-for-how-long

Air cargo picks up in May, demand still weak

Machine lifts cargo pallets up to door of plane for loading.

Shipments are increasing as the global economy gradually reawakens from a coronavirus-induced slumber and that is translating into slightly better air cargo demand, new data shows.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported air cargo volume fell 20.3% in May from 2019, but that was better than April’s year-over-year decline of 25.6%. International demand, measured by the amount of cargo tons times distance carried, dropped 21.5% in May.

The trade group’s figures show better...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-picks-up-in-may-demand-still-weak

Market watch: Air cargo frenzy dies down

Cargo on pallets waiting to get loaded on a plane.

The white-knuckle ride through the airfreight market stratosphere has ended as prices continued to fall back toward earth again last week, bringing relief to companies that purchase air transport to move their goods.

The change in conditions is best illustrated by export flows from China to the U.S. and Europe, where air rates have tumbled more than 60%, from $15 to $20 per kilogram at one point, to under $10 per kilogram, as panic-buying for personal protective equipment (PPE) gives way to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/market-watch-air-cargo-frenzy-dies-down