Japan's international air cargo demand rose in 2021, as limited container availability and port congestion saw shippers turn to airlines to transport their goods.
Japan's Narita, the country's largest airport for air freight, handled around 2.6mn t of air cargoes in 2021, up by 32pc from 2020 and by 27pc from pre-pandemic 2019. This was the highest volume since 1978 when the terminal opened, according to Narita. The number of cargo flights more than doubled compared with 2019 to 50,961, which was also up by 37pc from last year.
The rise in the number of flights was supported by transportation demand switched from shipping, Narita said. Higher freight costs, a lack of containers and space on vessels and increased congestion at ports prompted shippers to send their cargoes by air.
A recovery in demand of plastic motor components in North America, semi-conductor manufacturing equipment for capacity increases at auto plants and the impact of Covid-19 vaccines boosted cargo volumes in 2021, Narita added.
Narita consumed 42,145 b/d of jet fuel in 2021, higher by 1.9pc from 2020. But it dropped by 46pc from pre-pandemic 2019. International passengers through the airport totalled 1.9mn in 2021, down by 73.9pc from the previous year and by 94.8pc from 2019. Domestic passenger numbers increased by 4pc from 2020 to 3.4mn but were down by 56.2pc from 2019.
Air cargo demand towards the US was especially strong, Japanese airlines All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said in their third-quarter financial results. Air freight from Japan to the US totalled 421,186 in 2021, up by 33.4pc from 2020 and by 7.2pc from 2019, with the weight rising by 87.3pc from 2021 and by 33.1pc from 2019 to around 228,000t, according to the Japan Aircargo Forwarders Association.
US port congestion and truck shortages were exacerbated in 2021 because of lack of workers, resulting in delays to port operations, according to Japanese joint container vessel venture Ocean Network Express. This further boosted air cargo demand between Japan and the US.
The Port of Los Angeles, which receives about 40pc of all containers entering the US, expanded its schedule in October last year to 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help ease the port congestion and container backlogs and shortages. The port also added surcharges on ocean carriers when import containers were left too long to ease the congestion.