African airlines posted a 2.4% decrease in demand compared to May 2022, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest analysis.
This was a decline in performance compared to the previous month (-0.9%). Notably, the growth on the Africa to Asia trade route slowed significantly in May from 18.5% in April to 11.0%, possibly due to the impact of the conflict in Sudan since mid-April. Capacity in May was up 9.2% compared to the same month in 2022.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 3.3% in May 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was a decrease in performance compared to April (-0.3%), mainly due to the stronger annual contraction in international air cargo demand from -3.5% in April to -6.4% this month. Available capacity in the region increased by 38.3% compared to May 2022 as more belly capacity came online from the passenger side of the business.
North American carriers saw the weakest performance of all regions for the third consecutive month with an 8.1% decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was a slight improvement in performance compared to April (-12.4%). Notably, airlines in the region saw the third month of double-digit contractions in volumes on the North America-Europe trade lane (-10.3%). Capacity increased 1.2% compared to May 2022.
European carriers experienced a 6.7% decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023, compared to the same month in 2022. This was an improvement in performance compared to April (-7.7%), in part due to the smaller annual contraction in international CTKs on the Europe-Middle East trade lane, from -4.7% in April to -2.9% in May. The decline in international cargo traffic on markets within-Europe also improved from -16.2% in April to -7.8% this month (seasonally adjusted). Meanwhile, capacity increased 5.6% in May 2023 compared to May 2022.
Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 3.1% year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023. This was a slight improvement in performance compared to the previous month (-6.7%). Capacity increased 15.6% compared to May 2022.
Latin American carriers had the only positive performance in May 2023 posting a 3.6% increase in cargo volumes compared to May 2022. This was an improvement in performance compared to April (-1.6%). Capacity in May was up 14.7% compared to the same month in 2022, according to IATA’s May 2023 analysis.