So far, 2024 has been a year with positive growth for both outbound and inbound of air cargo shipments from all origin and destination regions. Air cargo originating from Central & South America increased by +4 percent in the period between January to May in 2024 (YtD) compared to the same period in 2023. Similarly, air cargo being imported to Central & South America increased by +9 percent Year-to-Date May 2024 compared to YtD May 2023.
In the last 13 months (May 2023 – May 2024), inbound to Central America and the Caribbean increased +13 percent on a Year-over-Year basis in May 2024. Air cargo traffic to South American countries increased +15 percent. The most important growth factor is the +41 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of imported Vulnerables/High-tech products Year-to-Date May 2024.
Rates for inbound shipments to Central and South America dropped -17 percent, compared to -10 percent on global inbound air cargo. The region ranked third in terms of highest rate drop YtD May 2024 versus YtD May 2023. Europe ranked first, whilst rates for outbound air cargo dropped the most for shipments leaving Asia Pacific (-31 percent). Rates for outbound shipments from Central & South
America decreased by -7 percent YtD May 2024 compared to YtD May 2023. Due to a greater flow of capacity, rates continue to go down despite increasing volumes.
The ranking below shows the largest air cargo markets in Central & South America (left to right based on the combined chargeable weight of outbound and inbound air cargo– YtD May 2024). Colombia’s air cargo market represents 27 percent of the region’s total outbound market, larger than Brazil (16 percent). However, but Brazil ranks first as the region’s largest air cargo origin due to its significant share of 32 percent in the inbound market. Ecuador follows as third largest air cargo market due to a 19% market share in the region’s total outbound market.
A big part of the YoY growth of Central and South America as a region was accounted for by the largest origin and destination countries. The outbound and inbound from Columbia increased +6 percent and +22 percent respectively in the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Ecuador increased +14 percent of its outbound air cargo and +7 percent of inbound air cargo. Similarly, air cargo traffic from and to Brazil increased +5 percent (outbound) and +4 percent (inbound).
Looking at product categories, the majority of special products shipped by air from Central & South America increased in the first five months of 2024. General cargo has seen a stronger growth (+7 percent) compared to all special products combined (+3 percent).
In terms of inbound, both general and special cargo have grown even more. In the first five months of 2024, inbound of all special products combined increased by +6 percent, compared to +10 percent for general cargo.
The air cargo market of Central & South America was the most outbound-oriented region in the period January to May 2024. Air cargo traffic from Central & South America accounted for 60 percent of the total air cargo market of the region, followed by Asia Pacific (59 percent), Africa (53 percent), and Europe (51 percent). The other regions (Middle East & South Asia, North America), on the other hand, were far more inbound-oriented, showing opposite figures.
