NEW analysis from WorldACD Market Data show the growth of 'general cargo' air freight tonnages is outpacing that of 'special cargo' products so far in 2024.
The finding reverses a trend in recent years in which demand from air cargo shipments requiring special handling and shipping, has broadly outperformed general cargo, reports Surrey, UK's Air Cargo Week.
Analysis of the first five months of 2024 by WorldACD, based on the more than 2 million monthly transactions recorded via its database, indicates that total worldwide chargeable weight from January to May 2024 was up by 12 per cent compared with the equivalent period last year, with general cargo demand up by 13 per cent, year on year, and special cargo growth trailing at 10 percent.
This contrasts with findings late last year by WorldACD that in the first eight months of 2023, general cargo tonnages fell by 12 per cent year on year, whereas tonnages of special cargo products as a whole grew by 3 per cent, on a worldwide basis, at a time when the market as a whole was down by 7 per cent year on year.
One factor for this is the strong growth since the start of last autumn in cross-border e-commerce traffic, which often flies in bulk as general cargo rather than within a special product category, as well as conversion of sea freight to air cargo and sea-air resulting from disruptions since last November to container shipping due to the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
These two factors have contributed to significant year-on-year rises in chargeable weight in the five months to May 2024 - from Asia Pacific (+20 per cent) and Middle East & South Asia (MESA, 22 per cent).
Globally, the proportion of special cargo products within the total market averaged 35 per cent in the five months to May 2024.
Examining specific country or sub-regional markets showing the largest increases and decreases worldwide also highlights some interesting developments. Ranked according to the markets' absolute changes in weight, Hong Kong tops the May rankings in terms of outbound increases in traffic, with an increase of over 30 million kgs (30,000 tonnes), year on year, followed by China South East, China East, India, and United Arab Emirates - meaning four out of the top five outbound year0on-year growth markets in May were in Asia.
SeaNews Turkey
The finding reverses a trend in recent years in which demand from air cargo shipments requiring special handling and shipping, has broadly outperformed general cargo, reports Surrey, UK's Air Cargo Week.
Analysis of the first five months of 2024 by WorldACD, based on the more than 2 million monthly transactions recorded via its database, indicates that total worldwide chargeable weight from January to May 2024 was up by 12 per cent compared with the equivalent period last year, with general cargo demand up by 13 per cent, year on year, and special cargo growth trailing at 10 percent.
This contrasts with findings late last year by WorldACD that in the first eight months of 2023, general cargo tonnages fell by 12 per cent year on year, whereas tonnages of special cargo products as a whole grew by 3 per cent, on a worldwide basis, at a time when the market as a whole was down by 7 per cent year on year.
One factor for this is the strong growth since the start of last autumn in cross-border e-commerce traffic, which often flies in bulk as general cargo rather than within a special product category, as well as conversion of sea freight to air cargo and sea-air resulting from disruptions since last November to container shipping due to the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
These two factors have contributed to significant year-on-year rises in chargeable weight in the five months to May 2024 - from Asia Pacific (+20 per cent) and Middle East & South Asia (MESA, 22 per cent).
Globally, the proportion of special cargo products within the total market averaged 35 per cent in the five months to May 2024.
Examining specific country or sub-regional markets showing the largest increases and decreases worldwide also highlights some interesting developments. Ranked according to the markets' absolute changes in weight, Hong Kong tops the May rankings in terms of outbound increases in traffic, with an increase of over 30 million kgs (30,000 tonnes), year on year, followed by China South East, China East, India, and United Arab Emirates - meaning four out of the top five outbound year0on-year growth markets in May were in Asia.
SeaNews Turkey
