The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published its November 2025 air‑cargo statistics, showing a solid increase in market activity.
Key figures
- Total cargo tonne‑kilometres (CTK) grew by 5.5 % compared with November 2024 (international operations up 6.9 %).
- Available cargo tonne‑kilometres (ACTK) rose by 4.7 % year‑on‑year (international operations up 6.5 %).
The growth was driven by shippers seeking reliable delivery ahead of the holiday season, strong demand from emerging markets, and a selective rebound in the Middle East, which offset a slowdown in the Americas linked to the new U.S. tariff framework.
Operating environment
- Global merchandise trade increased by 2 % in October.
- Jet‑fuel prices climbed 5.9 % in November despite lower crude prices, due to refinery outages, EU limits on Russian‑derived fuel, and limited spare refining capacity, pushing crack spreads close to double the previous year’s level.
- World manufacturing sentiment improved, with the PMI reaching 51.17 in November – the fourth consecutive month above the 50‑point expansion threshold.
Regional performance (November 2025)
- Africa: CTK up 15.6 %, capacity up 18.1 % – the strongest regional increase.
- Asia‑Pacific: Demand up 10.3 %, capacity up 8.4 %.
- Europe: Demand up 5.8 %, capacity up 4.1 %.
- Middle East: Demand up 7.4 %, capacity up 11.0 %.
- North America: Demand fell 1.6 %, capacity fell 2.3 %.
- Latin America & Caribbean: Demand down 4.8 %, capacity down 3.0 % – the weakest regional performance.
Growth on major trade lanes
- Asia → North America: +1.8 % YoY (24.6 % of total market).
- Europe → Asia: +11.7 % YoY (20.4 % of total market).
- Middle East → Europe: +5.4 % YoY (5.6 % of total market).
- Middle East → Asia: +11.1 % YoY (7.3 % of total market).
- Intra‑Asia: +15.8 % YoY (7.0 % of total market).
- Intra‑Europe: –4.9 % YoY (2.0 % of total market).
- North America → Europe: +5.0 % YoY (13.3 % of total market).
- Africa → Asia: +9.5 % YoY (1.4 % of total market).
The sustained end‑of‑year growth bodes well for the sector as it heads into 2026.
Source: www.iata.org
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