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Total air cargo demand measured in cargo ton kilometers rose by 4.4% in March 2025 compared to the same month last year
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This was a historic peak for the month, according to the International Air Transport Association
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Capacity, measured in available cargo ton kilometers expanded by 4.3% compared to March 2024
Total air cargo demand measured in cargo ton kilometers rose by 4.4% in March 2025 compared to the same month last year. This was a historic peak for the month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.
Capacity, measured in available cargo ton kilometers, expanded by 4.3% compared to March 2024.
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 2 April tariff announcement by the Trump administration.”
He also said that the uncertainty over how much of the April 2 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.
Walsh added that the temporary pause on implementation fuels hope that political leaders will be able to shift trade tensions to reliable agreements that can restore confidence in global supply chains.
According to IATA, there are several factors in the operating environment worth noting.
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 fell 17.3% year-on-year, marking nine straight months of declines.
The sharp rise in US tariffs and new trade rules, especially the May 2 ban on duty-free imports from China, may have prompted companies and buyers to make purchases in advance to avoid higher import fees.
Global industrial output grew 3.2% year-on-year, and trade volumes expanded 2.9%.
IATA also took note of the fall of many key Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) indices: 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%.
Regionally, carriers from four areas – Asia Pacific, European, North American, and Latin American – experience growth, while two areas – Middle Eastern and African – experienced decreases.
Asia Pacific airlines were the best performing at 9.6% growth, closely followed by North American carriers at 9.5% increase.
For Latin American airlines, air cargo growth was at 5.8% year on year rise, and for European carriers it was pegged agt 4.5%.
Demand growth fell 13.4% for African airlines, while the drop was 3.2% for Middle Eastern carriers.
IATA stated that the Europe-North America route was the busiest trade lane in March, this year.
The largest trade lane by market share, Asia-North America, also grew strongly, likely 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 2025.
READ: Global air cargo demand dips in Feb, first time since 2023 — IATA
