Resilient international demand for air cargo capacity in August versus a shortfall in supply pushed average global air cargo rates up 112% to their pre-Covid level as a local lockdown in Vietnam and the closure of cargo handling terminals at Shanghai Pudong International Airport after a handful of new Covid cases demonstrated the fragility of supply chains.
CLIVE Data Services’ industry analyses for August 2021 shows volumes up 1% compared to the same month of 2019, before the pandemic took hold, and +19% versus August 2020. The biggest challenge for businesses importing and exporting goods by air remained the low level of available cargo capacity at -16% below the level seen in August 2019. CLIVE continues to measure and report air cargo market performance to pre-Covid 2019 levels, as well as providing 2020 year-over-year comparisons, to provide meaningful analyses of the current state of the market. Year-over-year, capacity was +18% compared to August 2020.
The impact on ground operations in Shanghai, contributed to a 10% drop in volumes China to Europe in the last two weeks of August, while westbound capacity was reduced by 18%. As a result, spot rates increased by nearly 20% in the last week of August compared to the last week of July.
Download August Economic briefing pdf
Exclusive Member Invitation – Economics4Cargo Webinar September 23rd
TIACA invites you to register to attend the next #Economics4Cargo webinar scheduled for September 23rd at 4:00 pm CET. Registration is exclusive to TIACA and NAP Members and Partners only.
