Air cargo tonnages from Asia Pacific origins have continued to rebound towards their pre-Lunar New Year levels, with rates edging back upwards and remaining above their level this time last year, according to the latest weekly figures from WorldACD Market Data.
Following a +20% rebound in week 7 from their Lunar New Year dip, chargeable weight flown from Asia Pacific origins regained a further +6% in week 8 (17 to 23 February), taking them close to their levels in mid-January, based on the more than 500,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. Asia Pacific to Europe tonnages regained a further +5% following a +30% rebound the previous week, with China to Europe tonnages regaining a further +5%, while Hong Kong demand was more or less flat. But Japan to Europe demand bounced back strongly with a +19% week-on-week (WoW) increase, back close to its highest level this year. And there were further WoW tonnage gains from South Korea (+7%), Vietnam (+8%), and Thailand (+18%).
Demand from Asia Pacific to the USA also regained a further +5% following a +28% rebound in week 7, taking tonnages back to their levels of mid-January. Demand from China was fairly stable (+2%, WoW), but tonnages from both Hong Kong and Japan increased by +11%, and there were similar rebounds from South Korea (+9%), Taiwan (+9%) and Vietnam (+10%).
Average spot rates from Asia Pacific to the USA also regained a further +4% following a similar rebound in week 7, taking them back close to US$5 per kilo ($4.99). China to USA spot rates regained +9% following three consecutive weeks of declines, standing at $4.08 per kilo in week 8, while Hong Kong to USA prices edged back up by a further +4% to $4.02 per kilo. Japan to USA and South Korea to USA spot rates both lost ground, but they remain strong at $6.75 per kilo and $5.73 per kilo, respectively. And Vietnam to USA and Thailand to USA spot prices both edged back up by +4% to $5.34 and $5.74 per kilo, respectively.
Asia Pacific to Europe prices, meanwhile, edged back downwards in week 8 to an average of just below $4 per kilo ($3.99) with declines from China (-3%), Hong Kong (-3%) and Japan (-6%), but South Korea to Europe spot rates held firm (+1%) at $4.16 per kilo.
Worldwide tonnages flown in week 8 were up by +1%, WoW, with the +6% rise from Asia Pacific origins cancelled out by decreases from Central & South Asia (CSA, -6%) North America (-2%), Middle East & South Asia (MESA, -1%) and Africa (-1%), while Europe tonnages were flat. On the pricing side, average worldwide rates, based on a full market average of spot rates and contract rates, edged upwards by +2% to $2.32 per kilo, thanks mainly to a +2% increase from Asia Pacific.
Compared with last year, average worldwide rates are up by +8% and tonnages up by +9%, although those comparisons are distorted by the different timings of Lunar New Year, which took place on 10 February in 2024 compared with 29 January in 2025. So, it remains too early to make meaningful YoY comparisons.
Demand from Middle East & South Asia to Europe remained steady, in the final full week before Ramadan, with further increases from various major markets including Dubai (+23%), Sri Lanka (+9%) and India (+5%), although tonnages from Bangladesh dropped for the second consecutive week with a -10% WoW decline. Tonnages from MESA to Europe are now well below their levels this time last year, but that mostly reflects their highly elevated levels in early 2024 due to the attacks on container shipping in the Red Sea. Indeed, tonnages from MESA to Europe in week 8 rose back above their peak season levels in November and December.
However, average spot rates from MESA to Europe dipped further in week 8 to $2.42 per kilo (-2%, WoW), well below their level in the latter part of 2024, but they remain slightly above (+3%) their level this time last year.
For more details, please refer to the attached WorldACD weekly report.
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