Global air cargo demand accelerates in September, up 7.7%

Monday, 2 November 2026 04:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Asia-Pacific airlines see 8.6% YoY growth in September; capacity increases by 4.9% YoY

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week released data for September 2026 global air cargo markets showing: Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), increased by 7.7% compared to September 2025 (+8.6% for international operations).

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK), increased by 2.7% compared to September 2025 (+3.3% for international operations).

IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen said: “Air cargo demand rose 7.7% year-on-year (YoY) in September, with growth across all regions. Stronger global trade and manufacturing provided a supportive backdrop, while AI-related shipments helped drive another month of double-digit growth across the Pacific. The challenge is cost. Jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared with a year ago, and yields have not kept pace. There is no shortage of goods to ship, but doing that profitably in the face of persistently high fuel prices has become more challenging.”

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

Global trade increased by 3.6% year-on-year in August, extending the run of consecutive monthly expansions to 42 months, on a year-on-year basis.
Jet fuel prices rose by 17.5% month-on-month in September and were 103.4% higher than a year earlier.
Global manufacturing activity pointed upwards in August. The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased 0.7 points to 53.8, while the New Export Orders Index rose 0.5 points to 51.9. Both indicators reached their highest level in five years and remain supportive of air cargo demand.

September regional performance

Asia-Pacific airlines saw an 8.6% year-on-year growth in air cargo demand in September. Capacity increased by 4.9% year-on-year.

North American carriers saw an 11.8% year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in September, the strongest performance of all regions. Capacity increased by 0.8% year-on-year.

European carriers saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in September. Capacity decreased by 1.6% year-on-year.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 3.8% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in September, the weakest of all regions. Capacity increased by 7.0% year-on-year.

Latin American and Caribbean carriers saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in September. Capacity increased by 7.6% year-on-year.

African airlines saw a 4.7% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in September. Capacity decreased by 1.2% year-on-year.

Air cargo performance remained mixed across major trade lanes in September. Asia–North America recorded the strongest growth, followed by within Asia, Europe–North America, and Europe–Asia. In contrast, Middle East-linked corridors remained under pressure, with traffic declining on both Europe–Middle East and Middle East–Asia routes.