According to the regular global air cargo report released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA, hereinafter referred to as ""IATA""), global air cargo demand will continue to remain much higher than pre-epidemic levels in September 2021, and transportation capacity will still be limited.
Continental airlines' international cargo volume increased by 34.6% in September, the largest increase among all regions for nine consecutive months.
Seasonally adjusted freight volumes are currently 20% above pre-crisis levels in 2019, but have been trending sideways over the past six months.
International capacity was 6.9% above pre-crisis levels and was the only region to show an increase, albeit a smaller one.
Asia Pacific airlines' international air cargo volume increased by 4.5% in September 2021 compared with the same period in 2019. Compared with the previous month (up 5.1%), demand has slowed down.
Demand is being affected by a slowdown in China's manufacturing sector.
International capacity in the region is significantly constrained, down 18.2% from September 2019.
European airlines' international cargo volumes increased by 5.3% in September 2021 compared with the same period in 2019.
Comparable to August's performance (up 5.6%).
Demand is strongest in the large North Atlantic trade channel (up 6.9% from September 2019).
Performance on other routes was weaker.
Manufacturing activity, orders and longer supplier lead times remain favorable for air freight demand.
In September 2019, international transport capacity fell by 13.5%.
Latin American airlines experienced a 17.1% decline in international cargo traffic in September compared with the same period in 2019, the weakest performance among all regions.
It was weaker than the previous month (down 14.5%).
Capacity in September was down 20.9% from pre-crisis levels, an improvement from August and down 24.2% from the same period in 2019.
Compared with September 2019, Middle Eastern airlines' international cargo volume increased by 17.6% in September 2021, which was an improvement from the previous month (increased by 14.7%).
Compared with September 2019, international capacity fell by 4%.
North American airlines' international cargo volume increased by 19.3% in September 2021 compared with September 2019.
North American airlines' performance was boosted by new export orders and demand for faster delivery times.
Compared with September 2019, international capacity fell by 4.0%, a slight improvement from the previous month.