IATA: global air cargo demand up 4.4 percent in March

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for March 2025 global air cargo markets on Tuesday, 29th April.

The latest report shows that total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), rose by 4.4 percent compared to the total reported in March 2024.

The March 2025 result was also noted as a historic peak for March in the global air cargo sector.

At the same time, capacity, as measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), expanded by 4.3 percent compared to the same month last year.

IATA director-general Willie Walsh said: “March cargo volumes were strong. It is possible that this is partly a front-loading of demand as some businesses tried to beat the well-telegraphed 2nd April tariff announcement by the Trump Administration. The uncertainty over how much of the 2nd April proposals will be implemented may eventually weigh on trade.”

Walsh further pointed out that, for now,  lower fuel costs which were driven by the same uncertainty are to be construed as a short-term positive factor for air cargo. 

Walsh added: “Within the temporary pause on implementation we hope that political leaders will be able to shift trade tensions to reliable agreements that can restore confidence in global supply chains.”

Factors to consider

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted; these include:

• March volumes typically rise after a lull in February, and this single-digit increase is in line with pre-COVID growth trends.
• Jet fuel prices dropped 17.3 percent year-on-year, marking nine straight months of year-on-year declines.
• The sharp rise in US tariffs and new trade rules, especially the ban on duty-free imports from China and Hong Kong beginning 2nd May, may have prompted companies and buyers to make purchases in advance to avoid significant import fees. 
• World industrial output grew 3.2 percent year-on-year, and trade volumes expanded 2.9 percent. Many key Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) indices fell: US inflation was 2.4%, down 0.4 points from February, EU CPI was 2.5 percent and Japan’s rate fell to 3.6 percent. China remains in deflation but this eased to -0.1 percent.

Global performance per region for March 2025 

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 9.6 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March, the strongest growth among the regions. Capacity increased by 11.3 percent year-on-year.

North American carriers saw a 9.5 percent year-on-year increase in demand growth for air cargo in March. Capacity increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year.

European carriers saw a 4.5 percent year-on-year increase in demand growth for air cargo in March. Capacity increased 2 percent year-on-year.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a -3.2 percent year-on-year decrease in demand growth for air cargo in March. Capacity increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year. It’s possible the weakness in this market is due to year-on-year comparison with the strong growth at the start of 2024 resulting from disruption to Red Sea maritime freight.

Latin American carriers saw 5.8 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March. Capacity increased 4.7 percent year-on-year.

African airlines saw a -13.4 percent year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in March, the slowest among the regions. Capacity increased by 10.5 percent year-on-year. 

With regard to trade lane growth, the Europe-North America route was the busiest trade lane in March. The largest trade lane by market share, Asia-North America, also grew strongly, possibly encouraged by front-loading shipments ahead of potential increased tariffs. Europe-Middle East and Africa-Asia were the only trade lanes to decline in March.

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