Translation: 国际航协：贸易变局之下 5月航空货运需求增长2.2% (pdf)
Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for May 2025 global air cargo markets showing:
“Air cargo demand globally grew 2.2% in May. That is encouraging news as a 10.7% drop in traffic on the Asia to North America trade lane illustrated the dampening effect of shifting US trade policies. Even as these policies evolve, already we can see the air cargo sector’s well-tested resilience helping shippers to accommodate supply chain needs to flexibly hold back, re-route or accelerate deliveries,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:
| May 2025 (%year-on-year) | World Share *1 | CTK | ACTK | CLF (%-pt) *2 | CLF (level) *3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market | 100% | 2.2% | 2.0% | 0.1% | 44.5% |
| Africa | 2.0% | -2.1% | 2.7% | -2.0% | 42.2% |
| Asia Pacific | 34.2% | 8.3% | 5.7% | 1.1% | 46.1% |
| Europe | 21.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 0.0% | 51.8% |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 2.9% | 3.1% | 3.5% | -0.2% | 36.1% |
| Middle East | 13.6% | 3.6% | 4.2% | -0.3% | 46.3% |
| North America | 25.8% | -5.8% | -3.2% | -1.1% | 38.2% |
(*1) % of industry CTKs in 2024 (*2) Year-on-year change in load factor (*3) Load factor level
Asia-Pacific airlines saw 8.3% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in May, the strongest growth of all regions. Capacity increased by 5.7% year-on-year.
North American carriers saw a -5.8% year-on-year decrease in growth for air cargo in May, the slowest growth of all regions. Capacity decreased by -3.2% year-on-year.
European carriers saw 1.6% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in May. Capacity increased 1.5% year-on-year.
Middle Eastern carriers saw 3.6% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in May. Capacity increased by 4.2% year-on-year.
Latin American carriers saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand growth for air cargo in May. Capacity increased 3.5% year-on-year.
African airlines saw a 2.1% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in May. Capacity increased by 2.7% year-on-year.
Trade Lane Growth: A significant decrease in the Asia-North America trade lane was expected and realized as the effect of front-loading faded (moving goods to market in advance of tariffs coming into effect) and changes to the de-minimis exemption on small package shipments (particularly those associated with e-commerce) were enforced. As cargo flows reorganized, several route areas responded with surprising growth.
| Trade Lane | YoY growth | Notes | Market share of industry* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia-North America | -10.7% | 24.4% | |
| Europe-Asia | +13.4% | 27 consecutive months of growth | 20.5% |
| Europe-Middle East | -0.9% | 5.7% | |
| Middle East-Asia | +10.8% | 3 consecutive months of growth | 7.3% |
| Within Asia | +9.1% | 19 consecutive months of growth | 7.0% |
| Europe-North America | +8.2% | 16 consecutive months of growth | 13.3% |
| Africa-Asia | -14.6% | 1.4% |
*Share is based on full-year 2024 CTKs.
> View May 2025 Air Cargo Market Analysis (pdf)
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