During November 2025, African airlines experiences a 15,6% year-on-year increase in the demand for air cargo, making it the strongest-growing region in the world.
The continent’s airlines saw an 18,1% capacity increase year-on-year. a cargo load factor (the percentage of capacity taken up by the market) of 44,2% represents a -0.9 percentage point year-on-year decline.
Traffic in the Africa-Asia trade lane grew by 9,5%. This is the fifth consecutive month of growth, although it comes off a low base and represents just 1,4% market share of the global air cargo industry.
As a region, Africa accounts for 2% of the total air cargo market
Willie Walsh, director-general of IATA, says: “Air cargo demand grew 5.5% year-on-year in November 2025, boosted by shippers prioritising timely delivery in the lead-up to the year-end holiday season.
“Strong emerging market demand and selective Middle Eastern growth more than made-up for softness in the Americas amid ongoing adjustment to the new US tariff regime.
“Globally, the fourth quarter for air cargo was resilient as strategic re-routing of trade shaped performance across key markets. The strong end for 2025 bodes well for the air cargo industry as it enters the new year.”
Factors influencing the operating environment include:
- The global goods trade grew by 3,2% year-on-year in October.
- Jet fuel prices rose 5,9% in November despite falling crude prices, driven by refinery disruptions, EU restrictions on Russian-derived products, and limited spare refining capacity, pushing crack spreads close to double last year’s levels.
- Global manufacturing sentiment strengthened in November, with the PMI rising for the fourth consecutive month to reach 51.17. New export orders improved slightly to 49.87, but remained below the 50-point expansion threshold, reflecting ongoing caution amid tariff uncertainty.