Asia Pacific air cargo demand rises 6.2% in Nov on export strength

The growth was driven largely by higher export volumes from Southeast Asia and India, alongside inventory restocking and rising e-commerce shipments ahead of the year-end festive season. AAPA noted that the seasonal need for time-sensitive deliveries continued to favour air freight.

Offered freight capacity rose faster than demand, up 7.2 per cent YoY to 11,163 million freight tonne kilometres, resulting in a marginal 0.6 percentage point decline in the international freight load factor to 61.9 per cent during the month, AAPA said in a press release.

Subhas Menon, director general of AAPA, said, Asian carriers benefitted from strong demand for timely shipment of goods, in line with historical trends for this period. He added that air cargo demand remained resilient over the broader period, rising 5.6 per cent YoY in the first eleven months of 2025, as global supply chains increasingly shifted towards alternative production bases in Asia.

For January to November 2025, Asia Pacific airlines carried 71,116 million FTKs, compared with 67,366 million FTKs a year earlier, while freight capacity expanded 6.9 per cent. Despite ongoing cost pressures linked to supply chain challenges, AAPA indicated that softer oil prices have provided some operational relief for carriers, supporting the overall stability of the air cargo market.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)