The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released global air cargo market data for October 2025, showing that total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), rose by 4.1% compared to October 2024 levels, marking the eighth consecutive month of expansion and setting a new monthly record for volumes.
Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), also increased by 5.1% compared to October 2024.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “While the Asia-North America trade lane extended its contraction to six months, October saw double-digit or near double-digit growth within Asia, between the Middle East and Europe, and between Europe and Asia. This shifting growth pattern shows that air cargo is enabling global supply chains to adapt to the impact of US tariffs.
“This positive news is especially significant as the air cargo sector enters the peak fourth quarter shipping season.”
When breaking down October’s regional performance, African airlines saw a 16.6% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo, the strongest rise of all regions. Capacity increased by 20.0% year-on-year.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw an 8.3% year-on-year growth in air cargo demand in October. Capacity increased by 7.3% year-on-year.
The slowest growth regions was Latin America and North America, where carriers saw a 2.7% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in October for both regions. However, capacity increased by 2.8% year-on-year for Latin America, and 0.1% year-on-year for North America.
European carriers saw a 4.3% year-on-year increase in demand with a capacity increase of 4.3% year-on-year, and Middle Eastern carriers saw a 5.7% year-on-year increase in demand with a capacity increase of 10.0% year-on-year.
IATA also reports that air freight volumes in October 2025 increased across most major trade corridors, with the notable exceptions of trade lanes between North America and Asia, and within Europe.
Europe-Asia posted the strongest performance with double-digit growth, followed by solid gains on Middle East-Asia, Africa-Asia, and Within Asia routes.
Europe-North America also recorded modest positive growth. Europe-Middle East was broadly flat.
You can read the latest Air Cargo Market Analysis from IATA in full here.
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