Worldwide total air cargo revenues increased by 3% in 2025 to their highest level since the exceptional Covid pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, thanks largely to a further significant year-on-year rise in chargeable weight to a new record full-year level, according to the latest figures and analysis from WorldACD Market Data.

December closed with a 7% year-on-year (YoY) increase in chargeable weight across the month, pushing up global fourth-quarter growth to over 6% – slightly higher than the YoY tonnage growth of Q3 (+5%) and outperforming the first half of the year (+3%). 

That meant full-year total chargeable weight for 2025 was +4% higher than the record tonnage levels in 2024, a year that had also achieved record growth of +11%, said the report.

Based on the more than 2 million monthly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data, worldwide air cargo average rates in 2025 dropped slightly (-1%) from their historically relatively high levels in 2024, leading to a total revenue jump (or cost increase, depending on your perspective) of +3% in 2025.

Strong December growth

That global +7% YoY tonnage increase in December was the highest full-month YoY growth of 2025, a fitting climax to what was another extraordinary and turbulent year. As for much of the year, the growth was driven by further strong increases in traffic from Asia Pacific origins: +11% in December, and +8% for the full year.

Given the extraordinary and fast-changing trade and tariff landscape last year facing international exporters and their logistics partners, it was another remarkable example of the agility and versatility of those companies, and the role that air cargo plays in supporting trade in volatile conditions, said the WorldACD report. 

Those Asia Pacific growth figures include some significant shifts in trade flows, most notably towards big increases in Southeast Asia to US air cargo flows while China to US traffic has fallen or stagnated, alongside a big increase in volumes from China to Europe and several other markets, it stated.

Prices stable but slightly lower

On the pricing side, average worldwide full-market rates (a mix of spot and contract rates) in December of US$2.65 per kilo were the same as the previous month, but they were -2% below their relatively high levels in the final month of 2024, meaning total air cargo industry revenues in December were +4% higher, YoY.

Average spot rates in December of $2.88 per kilo were relatively stable on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, after rising +7% MoM in November due to seasonal pre-holiday re-stocking of consumer goods, and also perishables from Central & South America (CSA). 

But those average spot rates were -6% below their equivalent level in December 2024, including significant YoY decreases from Middle East & South Asia (MESA, -20%), Europe (-10%), North America (-9%), and CSA (-9%) origins. 

But spot rates from Asia Pacific origins held up better compared with last year (-4%, YoY), thanks to continuing strong demand and relatively constrained capacity.

For the two weeks (from December 22 last year until January 4) the capacity dropped by 9% compared with the previous two-week period, while chargeable weight dropped by 30% and average rates slipped by 5%, said the WorldACD Market Data report.

These patterns were very similar to the same period a year ago, as carriers cut back capacity to reflect falling end-of-year demand, with the only noteworthy difference being that rates in the equivalent period last year were more stable, it added.-TradeArabia News Service