WorldACD: Cargo rebounds as 2026 gathers pace

Worldwide air cargo volumes continued to recover strongly in the second full week of 2026 from their seasonal end-of-year slump, with a further +11% week-on-week (WoW) rebound, maintaining global tonnages around +5% above the equivalent levels a year ago, according to the latest weekly figures and analysis from WorldACD Market Data. The +11% WoW recovery in week 3 (12 to 18 January) was driven by rebounding tonnages from all the main world origin regions except for the Middle East & South Asia (MESA, which recorded a -1% dip, WoW), and follows a +28% WoW rebound the previous week. It lifts worldwide chargeable weight back close to pre-holiday season levels, and around -10% below their levels in mid-December, based on the more than 500,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. As was the case throughout most of last year, tonnages were up, year on year (YoY), from most of the main origin regions, including YoY gains in week 3 from MESA (+15%), Africa (+9%), Asia Pacific (+6%), Central & South America (+5%), and North America (+2%), with only Europe down slightly (-1%) compared with tonnages this time last year. Chargeable weight patterns of the past five weeks from each of those six origin regions are remarkably similar to their equivalent periods a year earlier, with the only significant difference being the relatively elevated tonnages of the past five weeks, compared with a year earlier, from most of the regions. Global average rates seem to have bottomed out in week 2 and began slowly picking up again in week 3 (+1% WoW, to US$2.41 per kilo), thanks mainly to a +4% WoW rise in rates from Asia Pacific origins, based on a full-market average of spot and contract rates. Average worldwide spot rates also regained +1%, WoW, in week 3, although the WoW spot rate rise from Asia Pacific was a more-modest +1%. Average worldwide spot rates ($2.60 per kilo) and full-market rates in week 3 this year are around the same level as last year, even though capacity has increased more strongly (+9%, YoY) than chargeable weight (+5% YoY). Noteable differences compared with last year include spot rates ex-Africa up +14%, YoY, while spot prices ex-MESA are -19% below their elevated levels this time last year, and spot rates from Asia Pacific origins are -3% down, YoY. In overall tonnage terms, Asia Pacific to Europe is growing more strongly, YoY, in the early weeks of 2026 than Asia Pacific to the US, although there are considerable differences between the performances of individual major markets from Asia Pacific. Tonnages in week 3 from Asia Pacific to Europe were up +19%, YoY, with strong YoY growth from all the region’s major origin countries except for Japan (-3%) and South Korea (+1%), including China (+17%), Hong Kong (+30%) and Taiwan, along with strong double-digit percentage rises from Southeast Asia origins, especially Thailand (+32%) and Malaysia (+26%). At the same time, tonnages in week 3 from Asia Pacific to the US were up by a healthy +6%, YoY, but there were huge disparities between the performances of volumes from China and Hong Kong (CN/HK, -12%), compared with the very strong YoY growth from South Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, with volumes to the US from Vietnam and Thailand, for example, up by around +50%, YoY – as they have been for several months. On the pricing side, the picture is more mixed. Average spot rates from Asia Pacific to Europe in week 3 dipped by -3%, WoW, with all origins negative except for CN/HK, where rates were stable. And compared with last year, spot rates from Asia Pacific to Europe in week 3 were down by -12%, with all origins negative except Taiwan (+11%) and Singapore (+9%). Meanwhile, spot rates from Asia Pacific to the US in week 3 were slightly up (+3%), on a WoW basis. But they were down by -11%, YoY, driven by all origins except for Singapore (flat, YoY). For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]