News #84 - Americas and Europe cargo revenues lag overall market performance

27.10.2024

Airline cargo revenues from the Americas and Europe have come under pressure this year despite the overall market benefitting from rate and volume increases.

Research from data provider WorldACD shows that in the first nine months of the year, cargo volume increases from Europe and the Americas were not enough to offset rate declines.

Its figures show that from North America chargeable weight was up 4% year on year over the first nine months but rates were down 15% resulting in a 12% fall in revenues (or charges for freight forwarders).

For Europe, chargeable weight was up 8% but rates declined by 22% resulting in a 16% fall in airlines’ cargo revenues.

Airlines operating services out of South America saw their chargeable weight increase 6% but these gains were wiped out by a 6% fall in rates.

Meanwhile, the overall air cargo market has seen weight increase by 12% year on year during the first nine months, while rates are down 2%, resulting in a 10% increase in cargo revenues.

The Middle East & South Asia (MESA) region benefitted from a 62% rise in airline cargo revenues, Asia Pacific was up 23% and Africa 9%.

“For MESA origin cargo, that’s due to strongly increasing tonnages flown (19%) and average pricing (36%), while for Asia Pacific, the 23% rise in total cargo [revenues] has been almost entirely generated by the 17% year-on-year growth in chargeable weight flown, with a small 5% increase in average rates overall in that period,” said WorldACD.

For Africa, there was a 9% increase in chargeable weight flown combined with a small 1% reduction in average rates.

However, WorldACD reported continued improvements in the Americas and Europe as the year progressed. By September, Central and South America airline cargo revenues were up 7% year on year, from North America they were flat compared with a year earlier and for Europe the decline had narrowed to 2%.

“If you are an airline or forwarder with most of your business originating in MESA or Asia Pacific, your perspective this year has been very different from those in North America,” the data provider said.

“But the latest figures indicate a broader rise in total air cargo sales from most of the world’s main origin regions, due to the continuing strong year-on-year growth in air cargo demand.”

Elsewhere, WorldACD said that the trend for general cargo volumes outgrowing special cargo volumes had continued. This is a reversal from the longer term trend of special cargo volumes growing faster than general cargo, which started earlier this year.

Over the first nine months general cargo volumes are up 13% year on year while special cargo is up by 10%.

“Much of this change from the longer-term trend is due to the exceptionally strong growth since last autumn in cross-border e-commerce traffic – which often flies as general cargo rather than within a special cargo handling category,” WorldACD said.

Source: https://www.aircargonews.net/data/americas-and-europe-cargo-revenues-lag-overall-market-performance/

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