IATA Reports a Slight Decline in Air Cargo Demand for February 2025

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the air cargo demand experienced a small decline of 0.1% in February 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, marking the first decreased figures since mid-2023. This trend is attributed to several factors, including special circumstances in the previous year such as leap year effects and the Chinese New Year.

“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.”
Translation: “February showed a slight contraction in air cargo demand, marking the first year-on-year decrease since mid-2023. This is largely due to factors in February 2024 being exceptional: a leap year with increased traffic related to the Chinese New Year, interruptions in sea lanes, and a surge in e-commerce activities. The growing trade tensions pose a significant concern for air cargo, and we encourage governments to prioritize dialogue rather than imposing tariffs.”

In addition, the data indicated a 0.4% decline in cargo capacity compared to February 2024.

Moreover, growing global tensions and economic concerns are likely to affect air cargo dynamics moving forward.