The air cargo industry underwent a serious stress test in 2023 as collapsing market demand and rates dragged down revenues, forcing many all-cargo carriers to scale back operations, postpone aircraft investments and tighten budgets, before a late resurgence in volumes lifted offered hope for a better 2024.
The course correction from 2021, when airfreight business skyrocketed to record highs as businesses looked for ways to overcome broken supply chains during the pandemic, began in early 2022 and didn’t stabilize until the fall. Airfreight wasn’t a priority for retailers because they had built up too much inventory on the misguided notion that online purchases would continue to explode while the reintroduction of more passenger flights saturated the market with belly capacity.
