Global air cargo demand rose 5.6% in January from a year earlier, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its report, thus marking a solid start to 2026 despite mounting geopolitical and trade uncertainties.

Demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), increased 7.2% for international operations. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK), rose 3.6%, including a 5.7% increase in international capacity.

Region wise, the Middle Eastern airlines reported a 9.3% rise in cargo demand, with capacity increasing 9.9%, the strongest capacity expansion among regions. African carriers saw the fastest demand growth at 18.2%, while capacity rose 6.5%.

Asia-Pacific airlines recorded a 7.8% increase in cargo demand, with capacity up 3.3%. European carriers posted 6.9% growth in demand as capacity rose 4.9%, it stated.

By contrast, North American carriers reported a 0.5% decline in cargo demand and were the only region to record a capacity contraction, down 0.2%. Latin American and Caribbean airlines saw demand fall 2.0% even as capacity increased 2.3%.

Air freight volumes expanded across most major trade lanes in January, IATA said, with the exception of the Asia–North America corridor, it added.

On the solid performance, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said: "The demand for air cargo had a robust start to 2026 but the growth was uneven across regions."

"Carriers in Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe expanded faster than the global average, while airlines in the Americas reported overall contractions," he stated.

Walsh said the sector’s resilience would be tested by evolving U.S. trade policies and renewed hostilities in the Middle East, both of which risk disrupting global supply chains. He added that these issues would feature prominently at the upcoming World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru, on March 10–12, where digitalisation and efficiency improvements are expected to top the agenda.

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