TOTAL international air cargo demand in May, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), rose by 14.7 per cent compared to May 2023 levels, reported IATA.

There was also a 5.3 per cent rise month to month.

Said IATA director general Willie Walsh: "Air cargo demand moved sharply upwards in May across all regions. The sector benefitted from trade growth, booming e-commerce and capacity constraints on maritime shipping. The outlook remains largely positive with purchasing managers showing expectations for future growth.

"Some dampening, however, could come as the US imposes stricter conditions on e-commerce deliveries from China. Increased costs and transit times for shipments under US$800 may deter American consumers and pose significant challenges for growth on the Asia-North America trade lane〞the world's biggest," he said.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), increased by 6.7 per cent compared to May 2023. "This allowed the industry to set a record in global monthly capacity levels," commented IATA.

Asia Pacific airlines continued to see strong demand, with a rise of 17.8 per cent. Demand on the Africa-Asia trade lane grew by 40.6 per cent, while the Europe-Asia, within Asia and Middle East-Asia trade lanes rose by 20.4 per cent, 19.2 per cent and 18.6 per cent respectively.

European carriers also had a solid result, achieving 17.2 per cent growth. Intra-European air cargo rose by 25.6 per cent, the fifth month in a row of double-digit annual growth. Europe-Middle East routes saw demand increase by 33.8 per cent.

Middle Eastern carriers saw 15.3 per cent growth. The Middle East-Europe market performed particularly well with 33.8 per cent annual growth, ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 18.6 per cent.

Latin American carriers saw 12.7 per cent growth, while North America was the weakest of all regions as carriers saw just 8.7 per cent growth. However, demand on the Asia-North America trade lane grew by 12. per cent, while the North America-Europe route saw an increase of 8.9 per cent, marking the largest demand growth for this route since mid-2022.

There was a mixed picture for inflation. In the EU and Japan, inflation rates fell to 2.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, while rising in the US to 3.3 per cent. In contrast, China's inflation rate remained near zero (0.3 per cent) reflecting weak domestic demand due to high unemployment, slow income growth, and a crisis in the real estate sector - a trend that has persisted since 2023.