Global air cargo demand grows 7.7% in September

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Global air cargo demand rose 7.7% year-on-year in September, driven by strengthening world trade, manufacturing activity and artificial intelligence-related shipments, the International Air Transport Association said on Thursday.

Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers, increased 7.7% compared to September 2025, with international operations climbing 8.6%, the industry group reported.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, expanded 2.7% year-on-year in September, with international capacity rising 3.3%.

"Air cargo demand rose 7.7% year-on-year in September, with growth across all regions," said Marie Owens Thomsen, senior vice president of sustainability and chief economist at the association.

"Stronger global trade and manufacturing provided a supportive backdrop, while AI-related shipments helped drive another month of double-digit growth across the Pacific," Thomsen said.

"The challenge is cost; jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared with a year ago, and yields have not kept pace," she warned.

"There is no shortage of goods to ship, but doing that profitably in the face of persistently high fuel prices has become more challenging," she added.

Jet fuel prices surged 17.5% month-on-month in September and were 103.4% higher than a year earlier, the association noted.

Global trade increased 3.6% year-on-year in August, extending its run of consecutive monthly expansions to 42 months.

Global manufacturing activity also strengthened in August, with the Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers' Index rising 0.7 points to 53.8 and the New Export Orders Index edging up 0.5 points to 51.9.

Both manufacturing indicators reached their highest levels in five years, continuing to support air freight demand, the association said.

Gökhan Ergöçün