In their trends message of two weeks ago, WorldACD provided the preliminary March data. Having meanwhile gone through the final figures, the main conclusions are the same as two weeks ago, albeit with some marginal changes in percentages growth or decline. Thus, year-over-year (YoY) March 2020 showed a 19% drop in cargo carried worldwide, and the sudden capacity shortage in the second half of the month indeed made for sharp price increases.
Of the ten city pairs with the highest price increase (USD) between January and March, six were on the North Atlantic. New York-London topped the list (+104%), while Los Angeles - Amsterdam was nr 10 (+55%).
Of the ten city pairs with the highest price increase (USD) between January and March, four were on the North Atlantic. Frankfurt – Beijing topped the list (+122%), while London - New York was nr 10 (+75%). For our (public) monthly yield/rate report, click here.
Overall, in Q1 2020 cargo carried was in decline (-9% YoY). The one product category growing was pharmaceuticals (+7%), as the transport by air of fish and seafood was hardest hit (-13%). Belgium was the only one of the Top-50 countries showing growth for each of the three months in Q1, driven by large increases in pharmaceuticals, live animals and dangerous goods.