Global air cargo contraction eases in June
Local goods mainly imported via road and sea
Air cargo continues to suffer more than container cargo from the slowdown in global trade.
Data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for June 2023 shows that global air cargo markets recorded the smallest year-on-year contraction in demand since February 2022.Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), fell 3.4% in June compared to June 2022 (-3.7% for international operations). For the half year, demand slid 8.1% compared to the January-June period of 2022 (-8.7% for international operations). However, demand in June was only 2.4% below June 2019 levels.
According to IATA, factors influencing cargo demand include both the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers Index or PMI (49.2) and new export orders PMI (47.1), which were below the critical threshold represented by the 50 mark, indicating a decline in global manufacturing production and exports.
In addition, global cross-border trade decreased by 2.4% year-over-year in May, reflecting the cooling demand environment and challenging macroeconomic conditions. The difference between the annual growth rates of air cargo and the global goods trade narrowed to -2.6 percentage points in May, representing the smallest gap since January 2022. However, the gap still suggests that air cargo continues to suffer more than container cargo from the slowdown in global trade.
Namibia
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), a total of N$3.6 billion, representing 40.9% of total exports left the country by air in June. This translates into an increase of 19.6% compared to N$3.0 billion recorded in May 2023.
Goods exported by sea accounted for 34.1% of total exports, while road accounted for the remaining 25%.
In terms of volume, a total of 541 695 tons of goods left the country showing an increase of 65.7% and 45.6% when compared to May 2023 and June 2022, respectively, NSA pointed out.
Looking at imports, road transport accounted for 59.6% of goods exported in June, followed by sea (33.8%) and air (6.6%).
Goods that were imported by air into Namibia mainly comprised of diamonds, telecommunication equipment and veterinary medicaments.
Finally, goods weighing 157 tons arrived in the country by air during June 2023, yielding a decrease of 16.9% when compared to the preceding month. When compared to the same month of 2022, the tonnage increased by 2.8%, NSA said.
About 135 013 tons of goods arrived in Namibia by road, while 83 666 tons of goods entered the country by sea in June. - [email protected]