Ukraine war, China lockdowns reverse air cargo gains

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Europe to/from Asia Pacific was hit hardest in March with eastbound cargo weight down 20% and westbound falling 29%. Photo from Korean Air.
  • Ukraine war, China lockdowns reverse air cargo gains
  • 2% growth in air cargo chargeable weight in January-February turned into a 3% decline in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, says WorldACD
  • Eastern Europe suffered a 38% dive in air cargo imports and took a 15% cut in air cargo exports in March
  • On region-to-region markets, Europe to/from Asia Pacific was hit hardest in March, with weight sliding 20% eastbound and tumbling 29% westbound
  • Business from China South East (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen) climbed 18%, compared with a 29% drop from China East (including Shanghai)

High hopes for a gradual recovery of the global air cargo industry this year have been dashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and COVID-related lockdowns in China.

Together, the two events reversed a 2% growth in air cargo chargeable weight in January and February into a 3% decline in March, said WorldACD, which analyzes and provides air cargo data from around the globe.

“Our figures for Eastern Europe show that [year on year] air cargo imports stood at -38%, and air cargo exports at -15% in March 2022,” WorldACD said in an industry update, implying the slide followed the Russian invasion of the Baltic country on February 24.

The lockdowns in several Chinese provinces and cities in March triggered a 13% decline in outbound air cargo and a 23% drop inbound air freight for China, WorldACD said.

“However, we should point out that business from China South East (including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen) was up +18%, compared with -29% from China East (including Shanghai),” the data provider said.

On a country level, WorldACD said that in March, 74 of the 155 countries for which it publishes individual data had negative outbound growth. That means more countries had positive volume growth, it added.

“From the worldwide region-to-region markets, Europe to/from Asia Pacific was hit hardest in March, as one would expect given the developments on both ends of this market: weight was down -20% eastbound and -29% westbound,” WorldACD said.

The Americas did best in March 2022 and in the first quarter, with both North America and Central & South America seeing high single-digit growth figures for their outbound and inbound air cargo volumes in this period.