Global air cargo demand increased strongly, year-on-year (y-on-y), in June, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. IATA is the representative body for the global airline industry.
“Air cargo demand grew 8.5% [y-on-y] in June,” highlighted outgoing IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “While North America was the strongest contributor to growth, demand in all regions was in positive territory compared with last year.”
International cargo demand increased by 9.6%, year-on-year. Total air cargo capacity rose by 4.4%, and international capacity by 4.9%, over the same period.
“Demand growth outpaced capacity at the global level and in all regions except Latin America and the Caribbean,” he elucidated. “Demand also grew faster than global trade, supported by high-value technology products, and urgent shipments. While this all gives strong reasons for optimism in the second half of 2026, risks remain – continuing hostilities in the Middle East and a renewed focus on tariffs by the US among them.”
Developments in the wider economy that affected air cargo included a 5.2% y-on-y increase in global trade. Jet fuel prices dropped 20%, month-on-month, but were still up 45.8%, year-on-year. The global manufacturing output purchasing managers’ index (PMI) declined by 0.5 points, to 53 points, which was still firmly in growth territory. But the PMI for new export orders came in at 49.4, the fourth month in a row of contraction. This indicated that the growth in air cargo was stimulated by specific, and not general, trade flows.
