The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for August 2026 showing global air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), increased by 4.4% compared with August 2025 (5.3% for international operations), while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK), decreased by 0.1% (up 0.1% for international operations). “Air cargo demand rose 4.4% year-on-year in August, with all regions reporting growth even as capacity was trimmed by 0.1%. Strong demand and higher load factors helped airlines to recoup some of the exceptionally high fuel costs. Yields rose month-on-month for the first time since April, while global goods trade growth continues. Both are positive signs as the year-end peak season comes into view,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.

REGIONAL PERFORMANCE

North American carriers saw the strongest year-on-year demand growth of any region, at 6.6%, even as capacity fell 2.5%. Latin American and Caribbean carriers grew 5.1%, Asia-Pacific 4.3% and European carriers 4.1%. Middle Eastern carriers recorded the weakest growth, at 1.0%. African carriers saw a 3.0% year-on-year increase in demand alongside a 14.0% increase in capacity, the sharpest capacity rise of any region, though the continent’s cargo load factor eased 3.9 percentage points to 36.5%.

TRADE LANES AND THE WIDER OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Performance diverged across trade lanes: Asia-North America recorded the strongest growth at 13.2%, its seventh consecutive month of expansion, followed by growth within Asia and on the Europe-North America and Europe-Asia lanes. Gulf-linked corridors remained disrupted, with Europe-Middle East traffic down 12.1% and Middle East-Asia down 11.0%, both for a sixth consecutive month. IATA noted that global trade grew 6.0% year-on-year in July, extending 33 consecutive months of expansion, while jet fuel prices rose 8.3% month-on-month in August and were 79.2% higher than a year earlier. Global manufacturing activity also increased in August, with the Global Manufacturing Output PMI up 0.3 points to 53.0.