Global air cargo volumes fall 9% in week 22 despite rate gains
Holiday-related disruptions in MESA, Africa and Europe weighed on traffic, while global capacity slipped 1% and air freight rates rose 35% year on year.
Global air cargo volumes fell 9% week on week during the week of May 25 to 31 as public holidays including Pentecost, US Memorial Day and Eid al-Adha disrupted traffic flows. Despite the decline in demand, average air freight rates rose 2% while global capacity contracted by 1%, according to the latest weekly figures from WorldACD Market Data.
The drop in volumes was similar to the 8% decline recorded during the same week last year. Traffic decreased across all regions, with the steepest declines recorded in Africa (-20%) and the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) region (-21%). Asia Pacific and Central and South America (CSA) registered the smallest declines, both down 3%.
The longer duration of Eid al-Adha, which lasted four days, had a significant impact on cargo movements in MESA and Africa. Chargeable weight from MESA to Europe fell 17% week on week, with volumes from Dubai and Bangladesh declining 25% and 45% respectively. Traffic from India was down 4%. In the opposite direction, volumes from Europe to MESA fell 22%, while shipments from Europe to Africa declined 17%.
On a year-on-year basis, global cargo volumes were down 3%. North America also recorded a 3% decline, while Europe, Africa and MESA registered double-digit percentage decreases. In contrast, Asia Pacific and CSA posted single-digit growth.
The MESA region was also the main contributor to the 1% week-on-week decline in global capacity. Capacity from the region fell 6%, while capacity from all other regions was either unchanged or down by 1%. This marked the second weekly contraction in capacity since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.
From Asia Pacific, volumes to Europe and the United States fell 2% and 1% respectively. However, exports to Europe from China, Vietnam and Thailand recorded gains of between 1% and 4%. Shipments to the United States from Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia increased by between 2% and 4%, while exports from China were flat and other origins recorded declines.
The slowdown in traffic at the end of May also affected monthly performance. Following a recovery in April, when global traffic grew 5% year on year after the disruption caused by the war in the Middle East, growth in May eased to 3%.
Month on month, chargeable tonnage declined from CSA by 7% and from Europe by 1%. Other regions recorded growth of between 3% and 6%. Compared with May 2025, tonnage increased from all regions except Europe (-4%), MESA (-1%) and Africa (-4%).
For the first five months of 2026, global cargo volumes were up 4% compared with the same period last year despite the disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East, which led to a 3% year-on-year decline in March. Asia Pacific led year-to-date growth with an 8% increase, followed by CSA (+5%), North America (+3%) and MESA (+2%). Europe and Africa both recorded a 1% decline.
Despite softer traffic, air freight rates continued to rise. The average global rate increased 2% week on week to US$3.29 per kilogram. Rate increases from Africa (+9%), MESA (+4%) and Asia Pacific (+1%) offset slight declines from Europe and the Americas.
Compared with the same week last year, global rates were 35% higher. All regions recorded double-digit increases, ranging from 11% in CSA to 59% in MESA and 50% in Africa.
Rates from Asia Pacific to Europe and the United States increased 1% week on week. Year on year, rates to Europe were up 39%, with increases ranging from 25% from Hong Kong to 79% from Thailand. Rates from Asia Pacific to the United States rose 36% year on year, with most origins recording gains of between 30% and 49%.
From MESA, rates to Europe declined 3% week on week despite an 11% increase from Dubai. Rates to the United States fell 2%, driven by a 17% drop from Dubai and a 2% decline from India. However, rates from MESA to both Europe and the United States remained 58% higher than a year earlier.
For May as a whole, the average global air freight rate was 1% higher than in April. The increase was driven by higher pricing from Asia Pacific (+4%) and Africa (+6%), while rates from MESA declined 7%. Compared with May 2025, average global rates were 36% higher, with gains recorded across all regions.
Year to date, global air freight rates were up 17% compared with the first five months of 2025. MESA recorded the strongest increase at 28%, followed by Europe (+22%), Africa (+20%) and Asia Pacific (+14%), while rates from the Americas rose by single-digit percentages.
