Supply disruptions in November cut global air cargo growth in half

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints halved the global air cargo growth in November 2021 compared to the previous month, a leading trade group said on Tuesday.

Global air freight demand, which is measured in cargo ton-kilometers, rose 3.7% compared to the pre-pandemic level in November 2019, according to a statement from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"This was significantly lower than the 8.2% growth seen in October 2021 and in previous months," read the statement.

Capacity shrank 7.6% from the pre-pandemic period and was relatively unchanged from the previous month with bottlenecks at key hubs.

IATA head Willie Walsh stressed that economic indicators pointed towards continued strong demand, but the pressures of labor shortages and constraints across the logistics system unexpectedly resulted in lost growth opportunities.