Global air cargo volumes rebounded in the first week of June as airlines restored capacity following disruptions caused by overlapping public holidays across key markets, according to data from WorldACD Market Data.
Air cargo activity picked up in week 23 (June 1-7) after a slowdown the previous week linked to the convergence of Pentecost in Europe, Memorial Day in the United States and the Eid Al Adha holiday, which affected operations in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Africa.
Global chargeable weight increased 3% week-on-week, recovering part of the 7% decline recorded in the previous week, WorldACD said.
The rebound was driven by a 16% increase in volumes from North America and a 13% rise from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa (MESA) region. Europe recorded a 6% gain, while Africa posted a 3% increase. In contrast, volumes from Asia Pacific and Central and South America declined by 2% each.
Despite stronger volumes, airfreight rates softened as oil prices continued to ease. Average global air cargo pricing fell 1% week-on-week, the data showed.
The impact of Eid Al Adha, which lasted four days, also shows clearly in a comparison of the past two weeks with the prior fortnight, where Middle East & South Asia and Africa show drops of 13% and 12% respectively in outbound chargeable weight, whereas the other regions registered single-digit declines.
Volumes out of Europe, North America and MESA declined on all intercontinental sectors, while tonnage from Asia Pacific climbed +3% to North America but shrank on the other sectors, a reflection of continuing strong traffic development in e-commerce and AI-related equipment, especially from Southeast Asia, said the WorldACD.
On an annual basis total chargeable weight last week was +6% higher than in the same period last year, but it should be noted that in 2025 Pentecost and Eid al-Adha took place two weeks later than this year, which skews a direct year-on-year (YoY) comparison. Last year the week after these public holidays showed a +2% WoW rise in chargeable weight, comparable to this year's WoW recovery, it added.