January 2021 was the most successful month for the air cargo market since the start of the pandemic

In January 2021, for the first time, leading analysts did not notice a drop in demand in the global market, and the level of demand corresponded to the indicators of January 2020. WorldACD statistics show that tariffs have increased by 75% year-on-year, even though they have declined since December.

The overall utilization rate declined 2% month-on-month, but increased 17% year-on-year, driven by a 28% decrease in capacity. The load factor of wide-body cargo aircraft in January increased by 7% compared to the same period last year, while that of wide-body passenger aircraft increased by 22%.

In general, the situation has improved significantly. WorldACD notes that the Asia-Pacific region has recovered the fastest from the effects of the pandemic. The situation in the aviation industry as a whole has improved. Outbound air traffic increased by 12% and inbound traffic increased by 14%. The top three were Vietnam (+ 30%), Japan (+ 30%) and Taiwan (+ 25%). Outside Asia, only the United States was able to increase its air cargo performance by 3%.

According to WorldACD data, three categories of cargo showed the highest volume growth in January compared to last year: express, high-tech and groupage cargo. Moreover, the maximum growth of 40% fell on express cargo.

Such analytics of the air cargo market instills optimism in me and my colleagues. Confirms the worldwide trend and demand for charters with ZetAvia in January. After all, with low oil prices, old aircraft, including cargo ones, have good prospects for remaining in operation. This means that the ZetAvia fleet, consisting of Il-76T and Il-76TD cargo planes, will continue to be in demand for the transportation of goods to the countries of the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Oleg Sergeev