WorldACD Air cargo trends for the past 5 weeks (wk 40): Rates and volumes decline further

Global air cargo prices and volumes continued to decline, the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data reveal.

Looking at week 40 (October 3 - 9) alone, worldwide chargeable weight dropped -9% compared with the previous week, based on the more than 350,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. Comparing weeks 39 and 40 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), volumes declined -4%, while average worldwide rates declined -1%, in a flat capacity environment.

Across that two-week period, tonnages from all the main global origin regions decreased, except for Africa (+2%), declining -7% from M. East & S. Asia and -6% from North America. On a lane-by-lane basis, tonnages from North America and Europe to Asia Pacific were all decreasing, with the most significant decrease from North America to Asia Pacific (-11%).

The negative trend in tonnages can also be seen from Asia Pacific, with volumes ex-Asia Pacific declining -5% to both North America and Europe, on a 2Wo2W basis.

Year-on-Year perspective

Comparing the overall global market with this time last year, chargeable weight in weeks 39 and 40 was down -14% compared with the equivalent period in 2021, despite a capacity increase of +5%. Notably, volumes ex-Asia Pacific are -22% below their strong levels this time last year, and M. East & S. Asia origin tonnages are -21% below last year.

Capacity from all of the main origin regions, with the exception of Asia Pacific (-10%) and C. & S. America (-3%), is significantly above its levels this time last year, including double-digit percentage rises from Africa (+15%) and Europe (+10%).

Worldwide rates are currently -13% below their level this time last year at an average of US$3.31 per kilo.