Air cargo rates and tonnage from major Middle Eastern and Asian markets remain highly elevated, especially towards Europe, in the third week of 2024 (week 20, from May 13 to 19). This is driven by strong demand and disruptions in maritime transport due to the Red Sea crisis, leading to limited capacity on key intercontinental routes and pushing rates to ever higher levels. The weekly analysis by WorldAcd Market Data reveals that global tonnage has rebounded by another 2% compared to the previous week, which also saw a similar increase following an 8% drop at the beginning of May (during Labor Day holidays).
In an annual comparison, volumes in week 20 increased by 9%, with demand from the Asia Pacific region up by 15% and from the Middle East and South Asia (Mesa) up by 16%. Examining the annual variation between weeks 19 and 20, volumes from the Mesa region to Europe surged by 31%, and even reached 148% from Dubai. Indeed, tonnage from Dubai to Europe continues to be inflated by the strong demand for sea-air combined transport due to the Red Sea crisis. This has also led to significant increases in tonnage from Sri Lanka (+57%) and Bangladesh (+28%).
WorldAcd's analysis for weeks 19 and 20 combined reveals that among the top twenty air cargo markets globally, Italy registered a 16% increase in tonnage, followed by Vietnam (+13%). Conversely, Colombia saw the largest bi-weekly decrease (-42%) due to a return to normal volumes after the Mother's Day flower export peak on May 12. Regarding destinations, Japan recorded the highest increase (+16%) as its trade volumes returned to normal levels after the Golden Week holidays (from April 29 to May 5).
In terms of rates, the global average remained stable, increasing by just two cents per kilogram to $2.48 in week 20, compared to the previous week. There was a more significant increase (+2%) compared to the same week in 2023. However, compared to the pre-Covid period (May 2019), the increase is a striking 40%. Looking at weeks 19 and 20 on an annual basis, average rates from the Middle East and South Asia have surged (+45%). Rates from Mesa origins to European destinations have more than doubled (+119%) compared to the same period last year, a trend that has persisted for the past seven weeks.
