African airlines have emerged as the standout performers in the global air cargo sector, posting a robust 14.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in demand for September – the strongest increase of all regions.
This is according to the latest global cargo data released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) on Wednesday.
The continent's carriers also expanded capacity by 7.4% y-o-y, achieving a cargo load factor of 44.4% while maintaining a 2% share of the global air cargo market.
This top performance comes amid a broader reshaping of international trade flows, driven by US tariff policies that have curbed North America-Asia traffic but boosted routes linking Asia to Africa and other regions.
“Air cargo demand grew 2.9% year-on-year in September, marking the seventh consecutive month of overall growth. Buried in that growth is a significant alteration of trade patterns as US tariff policies, including the ending of de minimis exemptions, kick in,” said Willie Walsh, Iata director-general.
“On one side of the equation, a decline in North America-Asia demand has set in over the last five months. But this has been more than compensated for with strong growth within Asia and on routes linking Asia to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. While many had feared an unwinding of global trade, we are instead seeing air cargo adapting successfully to serve shifting market demands,” said Walsh.
Globally, total demand measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK) rose by 2.9% compared to September 2024, with capacity up 3%. International operations showed slightly stronger gains at 3.2% for demand and 4.4% for capacity.
The Africa-Asia trade lane recorded notable gains in September, contributing to the continent's growth. This surge aligns with broader trends showing robust double-digit increases on Europe-Asia and within-Asia corridors, while Asia-North America routes declined.
African airlines' 14.7% demand growth far outpaced other regions: Asia-Pacific carriers saw 6.8%, European airlines 2.5%, Middle Eastern operators 0.6%, and Latin American carriers a 2.2% decrease. North American airlines recorded a 1.2% drop.
Supporting factors include a 3.7% y-o-y rise in global goods trade in August and strengthening manufacturing sentiment, with the PMI climbing to 51.3 in September.
For African logistics hubs and exporters, these figures signal expanding opportunities in high-value, time-sensitive shipments to Asian markets, even as jet fuel prices rose 5.4% in September.
