African airlines’ air cargo demand grew 4.7% year on year in September while their capacity fell 1.2%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The gains came as jet fuel prices more than doubled from a year earlier, squeezing margins across the industry.
Because demand grew while capacity shrank, African carriers’ cargo load factor rose 2.7 percentage points to 47%, close to the global average of 47.9%. Based on 2025 volumes, the region carries 2.1% of global air cargo traffic.
September was stronger than the months before it. In July, demand at African airlines grew 1.1%, the weakest of any region. In August it grew 3%, while capacity jumped 14%, the steepest rise of any region, which pulled load factors down. Growth remains well below the 14.7% the region recorded in September 2025, which gives this year a high base for comparison.
| Region (September 2026, year on year) | Demand | Capacity | Load factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | +11.8% | +0.8% | 43.9% |
| Asia-Pacific | +8.6% | +4.9% | 50.7% |
| Latin America & Caribbean | +6.7% | +7.6% | 34.3% |
| Africa | +4.7% | -1.2% | 47.0% |
| Europe | +4.5% | -1.6% | 54.6% |
| Middle East | +3.8% | +7.0% | 44.0% |
| Global | +7.7% | +2.7% | 47.9% |
Globally, demand measured in cargo tonne-kilometres rose 7.7%, and international traffic rose 8.6%. Capacity grew 2.7% overall and 3.3% on international routes. Every region grew. North American carriers led at 11.8%, while Middle Eastern airlines were weakest at 3.8%, despite adding 7% more capacity.
Cost is now the industry’s main pressure. Jet fuel rose 17.5% month on month in September and was 103.4% higher than a year earlier. Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice-president of sustainability and chief economist, said yields had not kept up with fuel prices. In her view there is plenty of cargo to carry, but carrying it profitably has become harder. Fuel is one of airlines’ largest operating costs.
Growth varied across trade lanes. Asia-North America, which carries 23.5% of industry traffic, grew 17%, its eighth straight month of growth. Owens Thomsen linked the Pacific’s strength to stronger trade, manufacturing and AI-related shipments. Traffic within Asia rose 10.2% and Europe-North America 9.3%. Europe-Asia grew 6%, extending a 43-month run. Routes involving the Middle East shrank for a seventh month, with Europe-Middle East down 18% and Middle East-Asia down 10.2%.
The Africa-Asia lane, which carries 1.3% of global traffic, grew 2.6%, its first month of growth after a decline. Industry operators say perishables, pharmaceuticals and e-commerce have been driving African cargo flows.
The wider economy continues to support demand. Global goods trade grew 3.6% in August, its 42nd consecutive month of growth. The global manufacturing output purchasing managers’ index rose 0.7 points to 53.8. The new export orders index gained 0.5 points to 51.9. Both are at five-year highs.
Over 2025 as a whole, African carriers’ cargo demand grew 6% while capacity grew 7.8%. For 2026, IATA forecast 2% growth for the region, against 2.6% globally.