Worldwide air cargo tonnages rebound +4% MoM in May
Average rates in May were lower on both MoM (-4%) and YoY (-3%) basis.
Worldwide air cargo tonnages rebounded in May with a four percent month-on-month (MoM) increase, according to the latest weekly figures and analysis from WorldACD Market Data.
The gain was after declining seven percent MoM in April following significant U.S. tariff rises and Easter and other holidays. The year-on-year growth for May also stood at four percent.
"Alongside a number of significant national holidays in May, the ending on May 2 of de minimis import tariff and reporting exemptions for low-value goods from China to the U.S., in addition to steep rises in U.S. tariffs on China-origin goods, led to a slump in transpacific traffic in late April that continued in the first half of May. The interim agreement on May 12 between the U.S. and China, which included cancelling some tariffs altogether, suspending others for 90 days and a partial softening of the de minimis changes stimulated a strong rebound in traffic from China and Hong Kong to the U.S. in the second half of May, taking tonnages on that market back up to their levels in early April."
All of the world’s main air cargo origin regions, with the exception of Central & South America (CSA), recorded MoM increases in flown chargeable weight, broadly reversing their MoM losses recorded in April, the update added.
On the pricing side, average rates in May – based on a full-market average of spot rates and contract rates – were lower on both a MoM (down four percent) and YoY (down three percent) basis. That is the first full month since April 2024 in which average worldwide rates have been lower than last year, based on the more than two million monthly transactions covered by WorldACD data. "That MoM and YoY fall in average pricing was recorded for all the main origin regions except Africa, with the biggest YoY drop coming from MESA origins, where average rates were -14 percent below their elevated levels last May."
The spot rates on the highly volatile China to U.S. market edged up slightly higher (one percent WoW) to $4.49 per kilo after gaining +15 percent the previous week, the update added.
