Global air cargo demand rises 8.5% in June
Global air cargo demand grew by 8.5% in June 2026, driven largely by the transport of AI and semiconductor components. While North American and Asian routes saw significant growth, traffic involving the Middle East declined.
Why it matters
The data underscores the critical role of the semiconductor and AI hardware supply chain in driving global logistics performance.
Global air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres, increased by 8.5% year-on-year in June 2026, according to IATA. International demand rose by 9.6%.
IATA attributed the development partly to the continued recovery of Middle Eastern airlines and performance in North America. The association said international growth contrasted with weaker export orders, pointing to cargo flows linked to inventory movements of AI and semiconductor products.
North American carriers recorded year-on-year demand growth of 17.1%, followed by Asia-Pacific carriers at 9.6% and European carriers at 7.2%. Middle Eastern carriers recorded a 5.6% increase as network capacity continued to recover.
Global air cargo capacity increased by 4.4% year-on-year in June, below the rate of demand growth.
For the first half of 2026, air cargo traffic increased by 4.9%, while capacity rose by 2.1%. The international load factor increased by 1.4 points to 51.9%.
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