IATA: Global Air Cargo Demand Increased 6% in May

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released its global air cargo market data for May 2026, showing that total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), increased by 6.0% compared with the same month last year. International cargo demand rose by 6.5%.

During the same period, available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs) increased by 1.9%, while international cargo capacity grew by 2.8%. With demand continuing to outpace capacity growth, cargo load factors strengthened across the industry.

The global cargo load factor (CLF) reached 46.3%, up 1.8 percentage points year over year. Europe recorded the highest regional load factor at 53.9%, while Latin America posted the lowest at 34.8%.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh said May delivered another strong performance, although regional differences became more pronounced. “Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America all recorded above-trend growth, while the Middle East contracted by 8.9% due to the impact of regional conflict,” he said.

Regional Performance

Africa recorded the strongest growth in May at 13.3%, followed by North America (10.5%), Asia-Pacific (8.0%), and Europe (6.7%). Latin America and the Caribbean posted modest growth of 1.9%, while the Middle East was the only region to record a decline, down 8.9%.

On the capacity side, Africa grew by 1.3%, Asia-Pacific by 5.1%, Europe by 2.2%, North America by 2.4%, and Latin America by 5.6%. Capacity in the Middle East fell by 9.2%.

Trade Lane Performance

Global air cargo demand showed mixed performance across key trade lanes in May:

• Africa–Asia: +14.1% (11th consecutive month of growth)
• Asia–North America: +19.9% (4th consecutive month of growth)
• Europe–Asia: +10.0% (39th consecutive month of growth)
• Europe–Middle East: −19.8% (3rd consecutive month of decline)
• Europe–North America: +0.4%
• Middle East–Asia: −16.5% (3rd consecutive month of decline)
• Intra-Asia: +5.5% (31st consecutive month of growth)
• Intra-Europe: +11.5%

Market Outlook

Global trade expanded by 5.0% year over year in May, marking the 25th consecutive month of annual growth.

Jet fuel prices fell 16.3% compared with the previous month but remained 93.5% higher than a year earlier.

Global manufacturing activity also remained in expansion territory, with the PMI rising to 53.5. However, the new export orders index came in at 49.6, remaining below the 50-point threshold and indicating continued weakness in export demand.

Overall, IATA said the air cargo sector continued to demonstrate resilience despite high fuel costs and limited capacity growth, while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain the industry’s most significant challenge.