Air cargo ends 2025 strong as Asia, Africa drive global flows

Global air cargo demand grew by 4.3 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, closing the year on one of its strongest monthly performances, according to IATA’s Air Cargo Market Analysis. Growth was driven mainly by international traffic, with Asia Pacific and Africa emerging as the strongest performing regions, while the Americas continued to lag.

International cargo demand increased by 5.5 per cent year-on-year in December, outpacing the overall market. Asia Pacific carriers recorded a 10.7 per cent rise in international cargo volumes, while African carriers posted 10.1 per cent growth, making them the only regions to achieve double-digit expansion during the month. In contrast, cargo demand in the Americas declined.

For the full year 2025, global air cargo demand increased by 3.4 per cent, signalling a move towards more stable growth after recent volatility. IATA noted that growth remained selective rather than broad-based, supported by e-commerce, supply chain reconfiguration and demand for time-critical transport. Air cargo also helped businesses adjust to changing trade policies through delivery front-loading during the year.

Asia Pacific led global performance in 2025, with full-year demand rising by 8.4 per cent, despite continued weakness on routes connecting North America and Africa. European carriers reported annual growth of 2.9 per cent, supported mainly by strong links with Asia. African carriers recorded 6.0 per cent growth for the year, extending a sustained expansion driven by stronger integration with Middle Eastern networks. Latin America and the Caribbean ended the year with demand up 2.3 per cent, while North America remained the weakest region, with full-year demand contracting by 2.2 per cent, largely due to softness on transpacific routes.

From a capacity perspective, global available cargo tonne kilometres increased by 4.5 per cent year-on-year in December, slightly outpacing demand growth. The global cargo load factor remained largely unchanged at 47.1 per cent, indicating that additional capacity was mostly absorbed. Capacity growth reflected measured fleet deployment, with uneven absorption across regions and trade lanes.

International cargo continued to account for a growing share of the market. For the full year, international cargo volumes rose by 4.2 per cent, increasing their share of total air cargo by 0.6 percentage points. Growth was driven mainly by belly cargo, which contributed more than four times the cargo tonne kilometre growth of dedicated freighters, even though freighters still accounted for nearly 58 per cent of international air cargo demand in 2025.

At the regional level, Europe and Asia benefited from stronger international flows. European carriers recorded 5.3 per cent international growth in December, while Asia Pacific carriers maintained strong momentum throughout the year. By contrast, North American international cargo volumes fell by 1.0 per cent in December and remained largely flat for the full year, reflecting weaker trade conditions in the second half of 2025.

At the corridor level, Europe–Asia emerged as the strongest performing trade lane, with demand rising 12.2 per cent year-on-year in December and 10.3 per cent for the full year. In contrast, the Asia–North America route contracted by 0.8 per cent in 2025, reflecting trade policy changes and the removal of the US de-minimis exemption. Within Asia, air cargo demand rose sharply, supported by manufacturing diversification and regional supply chain shifts.

Jet fuel prices declined for the first time in four months in December, falling 3.1 per cent year-on-year. This marked the ninth month of annual fuel price decline in 2025. Cargo yields fell 2.6 per cent year-on-year in December, extending an eight-month decline, although month-on-month rates remained largely stable.

IATA said the year-end data points to an air cargo market increasingly shaped by international flows, corridor-specific demand and a gradual rebalancing between belly and freighter capacity, rather than uniform global growth.