CLIVE Data Services announced air cargo demand dropped four per cent in May compared to the same month in 2019, reports London's Air Cargo News.
CLIVE's dynamic load factor figures are based on weight and volume, where May stood at 69 per cent, seven points higher than 2019 but down two points in April and four in March.
'There were several (extended) public holidays in May which were not present in May 2019, (China, Russia, and Eid al-Fitr at the end of the Ramadan) which will have impacted the monthly growth rate in a negative manner,' said CLIVE managing director Niall van de Wouw.
'By how much is hard to tell - so May 2021 is more complex to qualify than to quantity. The monthly data leaves us with a question mark that is likely to go unanswered until we see June's level of demand,' he said.
'There are signals in May's data that may be a cause for concern - particularly the nine per cent decline in air cargo volumes ex Europe versus May 2019 - but it's certainly far too soon to tell if we are seeing a structural change in the recovery of the last few quarters. Nonetheless, there are several indicators in May that the path of growth may be slowing,' Mr van de Wouw said.
'Air freight capacity is still scarce on many key trade lanes, so prices remain strong as economic activity picks up whilst passenger air capacity remains constrained due to restrictions on international travel,' said air freight rate data provider Gareth Sinclair.
'The BAI (Baltic Air Freight Indices) increased by three per cent in May over April, but this is marked slowdown on the 17 per cent growth seen in April-over-March,' said Mr Sinclair.
'Pricing strength continues to be seen ex-China and Hong Kong to the US and Europe and from Europe to the US with all three trade lanes seeing price increases in May over April, although prices peaked in early May and have fallen in recent weeks,' said Mr Sinclair.
'Even so, the air freight market continues to be strong, particularly CN/HK to US, and is likely to continue for some time as demand in several markets continues to outstrip supply as ecommerce traffic increases and economic activity strengthens in many markets,' said Mr Sinclair.
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CLIVE's dynamic load factor figures are based on weight and volume, where May stood at 69 per cent, seven points higher than 2019 but down two points in April and four in March.
'There were several (extended) public holidays in May which were not present in May 2019, (China, Russia, and Eid al-Fitr at the end of the Ramadan) which will have impacted the monthly growth rate in a negative manner,' said CLIVE managing director Niall van de Wouw.
'By how much is hard to tell - so May 2021 is more complex to qualify than to quantity. The monthly data leaves us with a question mark that is likely to go unanswered until we see June's level of demand,' he said.
'There are signals in May's data that may be a cause for concern - particularly the nine per cent decline in air cargo volumes ex Europe versus May 2019 - but it's certainly far too soon to tell if we are seeing a structural change in the recovery of the last few quarters. Nonetheless, there are several indicators in May that the path of growth may be slowing,' Mr van de Wouw said.
'Air freight capacity is still scarce on many key trade lanes, so prices remain strong as economic activity picks up whilst passenger air capacity remains constrained due to restrictions on international travel,' said air freight rate data provider Gareth Sinclair.
'The BAI (Baltic Air Freight Indices) increased by three per cent in May over April, but this is marked slowdown on the 17 per cent growth seen in April-over-March,' said Mr Sinclair.
'Pricing strength continues to be seen ex-China and Hong Kong to the US and Europe and from Europe to the US with all three trade lanes seeing price increases in May over April, although prices peaked in early May and have fallen in recent weeks,' said Mr Sinclair.
'Even so, the air freight market continues to be strong, particularly CN/HK to US, and is likely to continue for some time as demand in several markets continues to outstrip supply as ecommerce traffic increases and economic activity strengthens in many markets,' said Mr Sinclair.
SeaNews Turkey