The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for full year 2024 and December 2024 global air cargo market performance showing:

Full-year demand for 2024, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), increased 11.3% (12.2% for international operations) compared to 2023. Full-year 2024 demand exceeded the record volumes set in 2021.

Full-year capacity in 2024, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), increased by 7.4% compared to 2023 (9.6% for international operations). 

Full-year yields averaged 1.6% lower than 2023 but 39% higher than in 2019.

December 2024 brought the year to a close with continued strong performance. Global demand was 6.1% above December 2023 levels (7.0% for international operations). Global capacity was 3.7% above December 2023 levels (5.2% for international operations). Cargo yields were 6.6% higher than December 2023 (and 53.4% higher than in December 2019).

Looking to 2025, IATA estimates growth to moderate to 5.8%, aligned with historical performance.

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

Global trade in goods grew by 3.6% annually in 2024.

In December, both the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers Index or PMI (49.2) and new export orders PMI (48.2) were below the critical threshold represented by the 50 mark, indicating a decline in global manufacturing production and exports.

US headline inflation, based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.9% in December. In the same month, the inflation rate in the EU increased by 0.2 percentage points to 2.7%. China’s consumer inflation fell by 0.1 percentage points to 0.1% in December, marking the fourth consecutive year-on-year decline and reinforcing concerns about an economic slowdown.

Trade Lane Growth: International routes experienced exceptional traffic levels for the 17th consecutive month with a 7% year-on-year increase in December. Airlines are benefiting from rising e-commerce demand in the US and Europe amid ongoing capacity limits in ocean shipping.