The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for March 2025 global air cargo markets showing that total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), increased by 4.4% compared to March 2024 levels (+5.5% for international operations), a historic peak for March. It also showed that capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), expanded by 4.3% compared to March 2024 (+6.1% for international operations).
“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 2 April tariff announcement by the Trump Administration. The uncertainty over how much of the 2 April proposals will be implemented may eventually weigh on trade. In the meantime, the lower fuel costs—which are also a result of the same uncertainty—are a short-term positive factor for air cargo. And, 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,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
IATA said that several factors in the operating environment are noteworthy, including that March volumes typically rise after a lull in February, and this single-digit increase is in line with pre-COVID growth trends. Also, jet fuel prices dropped 17.3% year-on-year, marking nine straight months of year-on-year declines; while the sharp rise in US tariffs and new trade rules, especially the 2 May ban on duty-free imports from China and Hong Kong, may have prompted companies and buyers to make purchases in advance to avoid significant import fees. Besides, world industrial output grew 3.2% year-on-year, and trade volumes expanded 2.9%, IATA observed. Further, IATA said that “Many key Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) indices fell: US inflation was 2.4%, down 0.4 points from February, EU CPI was 2.5% and Japan’s rate fell 0.1% to 3.6%. China remains in deflation but this eased to -0.1%.”
| Air cargo market in detail – March 2025 | ||||||
| World | March 2025 (% year-on-year) | |||||
| share1 | CTK | ACTK | CLF (%-pt) | CLF (level) | ||
| TOTAL MARKET | 100.0% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 0.0% | 47.5% | |
| Africa | 2.0% | -13.4% | 10.8% | -10.4% | 37.1% | |
| Asia Pacific | 34.2% | 9.3% | 7.6% | 0.8% | 48.6% | |
| Europe | 21.5% | 4.4% | 2.8% | 0.9% | 59.6% | |
| Latin America | 2.9% | 5.6% | 5.2% | 0.1% | 39.5% | |
| Middle East | 13.6% | -3.3% | 0.9% | -2.0% | 47.6% | |
| North America | 25.8% | 3.7% | 2.6% | 0.5% | 40.7% | |
| Note 1: % of industry CTK in 2024 | ||||||
On Regional performance in March, IATA said that Asia-Pacific airlines saw 9.6% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo, the strongest growth among the regions. Capacity increased by 11.3% year-on-year.
North American carriers saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in demand growth for air cargo in March, while capacity increased by 6.1% year-on-year.
European carriers saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase in demand growth for air cargo in March, and capacity in the region increased 2.0% year-on-year.
Middle Eastern carriers had a -3.2% year-on-year decrease in demand growth for air cargo in March, with capacity increase by 0.8% year-on-year. IATA said that it is 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.
For Latin American carriers, they saw 5.8% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in March, with capacity increasing 4.7% year-on-year.
African airlines saw a -13.4% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in March, the slowest among the regions. Capacity increased by 10.5% year-on-year.
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.
| Trade Lane | YOY Growth | Notes | Market Share of Industry |
| Asia-North America | +7.3% | This route has resumed growth after a revised fall of 0.5% in February | 24.4% |
| Europe-Asia
|
+8.3% | 25 consecutive months of growth | 20.5% |
| Europe-Middle East
|
-7.5% | N/A | 5.7% |
| Middle East-Asia
|
+2.9% | N/A | 7.3% |
| Within Asia
|
+5.5% | 17 consecutive months of growth | 7.0% |
| Europe-North America | +8.5% | 14 consecutive months of growth | 13.3% |
| Africa-Asia | -40.2% | 4 consecutive months of decline | 1.4% |
| Within Europe | -5.2% | N/A | 2.0% |
IATA statistics cover international and domestic scheduled air cargo for IATA member and non-member airlines. Total cargo traffic market share by region of carriers in terms of CTK is: Asia-Pacific 34.2%, Europe 21.5%, North America 25.8%, Middle East 13.6%, Latin America 2.9%, and Africa 2.0%. IATA represents some 340 airlines comprising over 80% of global air traffic.
