RESEARCH
Global Air Cargo Hit Record Volume in 2025 -- Trackers Split From 3.4% to 4.0% Growth
Global air cargo demand set a new record in 2025. Three independently operated trackers -- IATA, WorldACD Market Data, and Xeneta/CLIVE Data Services -- each measured full-year growth, landing in a tight band between +3.4% and +4.0% year-over-year. The trackers pull from fundamentally different data sources: IATA aggregates airline-reported cargo tonne-kilometers, WorldACD compiles freight-forwarder and airline booking records, and Xeneta/CLIVE runs dynamic load-factor analytics across carrier capacity data -- yet they land within less than a full percentage point of each other.
Findings
- IATA reported full-year 2025 global air cargo demand (CTK) grew 3.4% year-over-year, with international operations outperforming at 4.2%.
- WorldACD Market Data reported worldwide chargeable weight rose approximately +4% year-over-year in 2025, reaching a new record full-year tonnage level.
- Xeneta/CLIVE Data Services independently measured +4% year-over-year growth in chargeable weight for full-year 2025, with December alone posting +6% growth.
- The three trackers -- using distinct methodologies (airline CTK statistics, forwarder booking data, and dynamic load-factor analytics) -- land within a roughly 0.6 percentage-point band, a tight cluster for a metric historically prone to wider estimate divergence.
- Growth was uneven by region: Asia-Pacific carriers led with 8%-plus year-over-year gains while North American carriers saw a rare year-over-year decline, per IATA regional breakdowns.
Delta Engine result
↔ Divergence Detected — Δ 0.1111 (threshold 0.05)
- Xeneta / CLIVE Data Services T2 85
- IATA T0 95
- WorldACD Market Data T0 88
Evidence quality
avg 35 · min 25 · max 55 · spread 30