IATA: air cargo demand slightly lower in February 2025

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its global air cargo market figures for February 2025 global air cargo markets.

The report showed how total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), declined by 0.1 percent compared to February 2024 levels, marking  the first decline since mid-2023.

Consequently, capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), decreased by 0.4 percent compared to February 2024.

IATA director-general Willie Walsh said: “February saw a small contraction in air cargo demand, the first year-on-year decline since mid-2023. Much of this is explained by February 2024 being extraordinary: a leap year that was also boosted by Chinese New Year traffic, sea lane closures and a boom in e-commerce. Rising trade tensions are, of course, a concern for air cargo. With equity markets already showing their discomfort, we urge governments to focus on dialogue over tariffs.”

Mitigating factors

In order to understand why cargo figures declined in the second month of the year, it should be noted that there was a 3.2 percent year-on-year increase in the industrial production index in January, registering the highest growth in two years.

As world trade expanded by five percent, the cost of jet fuel prices likewise averaged $94.6 a barrel in February, 2.1 lower than it was the month before. 

In February, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for global manufacturing output showed growth as it was above the 50-mark at 51.5. 

The PMI for new export orders rose slightly to 49.60 from the previous month, remaining just shy of the 50-mark, which is the growth threshold.

However, consumer inflation remained elevated in the US, Europe, and Japan, easing only slightly from the previous month. 

In contrast, China recorded its first decline in consumer prices in 11 months, reinforcing signs of persistent deflationary pressure in the economy.