The need for digitization is increasing
Corona’s impact on the global economy, and consequently on logistics, suggested that demand in relation to air freight would be rather negative at the present time.
However, the exact opposite is the case. Compared to pre-COVID pandemic levels (March 2019), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published, global air cargo demand reached an all-time high in March 2021 (March 2020 was deliberately not considered due to pandemic bias).
This is because global demand, measured in cargo ton kilometers (CTKs), increased by 4.4% compared to March 2019 and by 0.4% compared to February 2021. Global capacity, measured in available cargo ton kilometers (ACTKs), also increased by 5.6% compared to the previous month.
However, compared to March 2019, it is still 11.7% below pre-COVID levels. This is due to a lack of delivery capacity due to the current shutdown of passenger aircraft. While attempts are being made to compensate for this with dedicated freighters (up 20.6%), this cannot offset the 38.4% drop from belly cargo capacity.
“The crisis has shown that air cargo can overcome fundamental challenges by quickly implementing innovations. In this way, it can meet growing demand even as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded. The sector needs to maintain this momentum in the aftermath of the crisis in order to increase the long-term efficiency of the sector through digitalization.”
Willie Walsh, IATA Director General
Increasing demand but less cargo capacity means that logisticians are currently losing business. This is where action needs to be taken. While there is not much that can be done about the pandemonium and global restrictions on air travel, existing supply chains need to be optimized to achieve the maximum freight movement from the available delivery routes.
This optimization can be achieved with BlueBoxAir. With detailed reporting and a unique overview of your deliveries across more than 160 airlines and 1,300 airports, you can take advantage of the increasing demand.
Feel free to contact us for more information.