Global air cargo demand increased by 7.7% year-on-year in September 2026, supported by stronger international trade, manufacturing activity and AI-related shipments, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), rose by 8.6% for international operations, while global capacity increased by 2.7%, including a 3.3% rise internationally.
Despite the positive performance, IATA warned that rising operating costs are creating significant challenges for airlines, with jet fuel prices more than doubling compared with September 2025.
“Air cargo demand rose 7.7% year-on-year in September, with growth across all regions,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's senior vice president sustainability and chief economist.
“Stronger global trade and manufacturing provided a supportive backdrop, while AI-related shipments helped drive another month of double-digit growth across the Pacific.
“The challenge is cost. Jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared with a year ago, and yields have not kept pace. There is no shortage of goods to ship, but doing that profitably in the face of persistently high fuel prices has become more challenging.”
Regional performance
North American carriers recorded the strongest growth of all regions in September, with demand increasing by 11.8% year-on-year, despite capacity rising by just 0.8%.
Asia-Pacific airlines followed with an 8.6% increase in demand and a 4.9% rise in capacity, reflecting continued strength in regional and transpacific cargo flows.
Latin American and Caribbean carriers reported demand growth of 6.7%, alongside a 7.6% increase in capacity.
European airlines saw demand rise by 4.5%, despite capacity declining by 1.6%, while African carriers recorded a 4.7% increase in demand against a 1.2% reduction in capacity.
Middle Eastern carriers registered the weakest regional performance, with demand increasing by 3.8%, compared with capacity growth of 7%.
Trade lane trends
Performance across major international trade lanes remained mixed, with Asia–North America recording the strongest growth during September.
Intra-Asian traffic also performed strongly, followed by Europe–North America and Europe–Asia routes.
However, cargo volumes declined on both Europe–Middle East and Middle East–Asia corridors, highlighting continued pressure on trade flows involving the region.
The wider economic environment remained supportive of air cargo demand. Global trade increased by 3.6% year-on-year in August, extending its run of annual monthly growth to 42 consecutive months.
Manufacturing indicators also strengthened, with the Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 53.8 and the New Export Orders Index reaching 51.9. Both recorded their highest levels in five years.
However, jet fuel prices increased by 17.5% month-on-month in September and were 103.4% higher than a year earlier, underlining the growing disconnect between strong cargo demand and the cost of meeting it.
