In December, global air cargo traffic saw a notable year-on-year increase of 10.8%, marking the most substantial annual growth in air cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) over the past two years. This surge brought the annual average 2023 figures to within 1.9% of the traffic seen in 2022.
Global International Cargo Tonne Kilometres (CTKs) increased year-over-year by 11.5% in December, with growth in all major trade lanes. This resulted in the year 2023 concluding just 2.2% below the international traffic level reached in 2022.
December saw new highs in Available Cargo Tonne-Kilometers (ACTKs), a metric for global air cargo capacity. This increase, largely due to the expansion of international passenger belly capacity, resulted in a 13.6% year-on-year (YoY) rise in December’s ACTK. Consequently, 2023 concluded with an 11.3% increase in total air cargo capacity compared to 2022.
The expansion in global air cargo capacity also resulted in a small drop in cargo load factors (month-on-month), closing the year at 44.0% on average.
