Coronavirus weakens China’s demand for air cargo despite drastic freight capacity cuts on passenger planes
- There will be more than 25,000 fewer flights operated to, from and within China this week compared with two weeks ago, with 30 airlines halting services
- About half of the air cargo carried globally is on passenger jets rather than in dedicated freighters
Major air cargo carriers said they have no immediate plans to add China flights to replace the capacity lost amid steep cuts to passenger travel due to the coronavirus, as many factories have remained shut down after the Lunar New Year.
Aviation data firm OAG said there would be more than 25,000 fewer flights operated to, from and within China this week compared with two weeks ago, with 30 airlines halting services.
But a spokesman for Germany’s Lufthansa Cargo said it had reduced its flying schedule, in part to allow pilots to spend the night in Novosibirsk, Russia, rather than in China. Demand from China to Germany fell because of the production shutdown, the spokesman said.
If you’re ordering people to stay in their houses it’s difficult to keep factories running. Many supply chains are essentially halted, so there’s nothing to transport
The shutdown represents a fresh challenge to an air freight market that was already weak before the coronavirus epidemic. Global demand fell year-on-year for 13 consecutive months until November amid slowing economic growth and the US-China trade war, according to the International Air Transport Association.
“If you’re ordering people to stay in their houses it’s difficult to keep factories running,” Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said. “Many supply chains are essentially halted, so there’s nothing to transport.”