Mother’s Day flower shipments boost global air cargo tonnages
Average worldwide rates held firm at $2.50 per kilo in week 16, the same level as the previous week
Global air cargo tonnages returned to growth in the third week of April, thanks in part to a surge in traffic from Central & South America (CSA) as flower shipments ahead of upcoming Mother’s Day events in large parts of the world made up for stalling demand from Middle East & South Asia (MESA) linked to Eid.
Total worldwide tonnages increased three percent in week 16 (April 15-21) after recording week-on-week (WoW) declines in the previous three weeks due to a combination of the effects of various holiday periods, according to the latest weekly figures and analysis from WorldACD Market Data. "Average worldwide rates held firm at $2.50 per kilo in week 16, the same level as the previous week and the equivalent week last year based on the more than 450,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. That rate remains significantly above pre-Covid levels: +39 percent compared to April 2019."
Flower story
Both CSA (+16 percent) and Africa (+15 percent) recorded strong WoW increases in tonnages in week 16, the update added. "Most (84 percent) of the tonnage growth ex-CSA can be attributed to higher flower exports to North America, ahead of Mother’s Day in the USA and Canada on May 12. Flower export tonnages ex-CSA were up by around 40 percent WoW. The tonnage growth ex-Africa was led by fruits & vegetables (31 percent of Africa’s WoW growth) and general cargo (29 percent of Africa’s WoW growth) whereas flower exports represented only 10 percent of the WoW growth for origin Africa."
MESA analysis
Air cargo tonnages from MESA and parts of Asia Pacific are not yet recovering post-Ramadan to the elevated tonnage levels seen for much of this year from that region, especially to European destinations, linked to strong demand developments combined with supply issues caused by disruptions to container shipping. For the Gulf sub-region, this is partly explained by the heavy rainfall at the start of week 16 that mainly impacted Dubai where flooding led to some flight cancellations, the update added.
"Dubai recorded a WoW volume drop of 18 percent in week 16 while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah recorded volume increases of 20 percent and 103 percent, respectively – boosted by cargo and flights diverted from Dubai. After dropping by 20 percent the previous week, Dubai-Europe tonnages fell by a further 29 percent week 16 but remained at more than twice their level this time last year (+107 percent)."
Average spot rates from MESA to Europe in week 16 were more than twice their level this time last year (117 percent) with India-Europe spot rates still averaging close to $4 a kilo in week 16 ($3.95/kg) despite a slight WoW drop, leaving them up by 172 percent compared to the same period last year, the update added.
