Global air cargo demand entered the second full month of 2026 with sustained year-on-year momentum, even as rates stabilised at levels only marginally above those recorded during the same period in 2025, according to the latest weekly market data published by WorldACD Market Data, an Amsterdam-based air cargo intelligence provider that tracks more than 500,000 transactions per week.
For the week of February 9 to 15, 2026, the worldwide average all-in air cargo rate stood at US$2.45 per kilogram, up from US$2.29 recorded in the same week last year, reflecting a 7 percent year-on-year improvement. Worldwide chargeable weight rose 16 percent year on year across the latest two-week period, pointing to solid underlying demand growth even as the immediate post-Lunar New Year rebound began to temper from its seasonal peak.
For African shippers, freight forwarders, and airlines, the regional data carries notable significance. Africa recorded a 9 percent year-on-year improvement in cargo rates over the latest two-week period, outperforming most origin regions on rate growth. Chargeable weight from African origins rose 6 percent year on year, while capacity on African-origin routes edged up 9 percent, suggesting that while demand is holding firm, supply is gradually expanding to meet it. In the region-to-region flow data, outbound corridors from Africa showed mixed rate movements, underscoring the importance of route-specific intelligence for carriers and logistics operators on the continent.
Asia Pacific remained the dominant story in global volume terms. Chargeable weight from Asia Pacific origins surged 38 percent year on year across the latest two-week period, the largest absolute contributor to worldwide tonnage growth. Full-month data for January 2026 showed worldwide tonnages up 9 percent year on year, with Asia Pacific origins leading the growth charge, though direct comparisons were complicated by the shifting Lunar New Year calendar, which fell later in 2026 than in the prior year.
The Middle East and South Asia region posted the sharpest rate decline of any major origin, dropping 11 percent year on year, even as capacity expanded 14 percent and chargeable weight rose 11 percent over the same window. The strong tonnage performance from the Middle East and South Asia corridor has been sustained since July 2025, with India in particular recording double-digit year-on-year growth in traffic to the United States despite tariff headwinds.
North America origins recorded a 6 percent capacity increase and a 10 percent chargeable weight rise two-week-on-two-week, though rates slipped 2 percent year on year. Severe winter storms in weeks four and five of 2026 disrupted North American cargo operations significantly, with tonnage drops ranging from 14 percent in the US Midwest to 19 percent in the US South at their peak.
The broader context for 2026 is one of volume growth encountering a capacity surplus. Worldwide chargeable weight in the latest two-week comparison period grew 7 percent year on year at the worldwide level, but that demand growth has consistently failed to outpace capacity expansion, placing downward pressure on rate levels relative to the elevated prices seen during the supply chain disruptions of 2023 and 2024. The gradual return of container shipping capacity through the Red Sea, as some lines resume Suez Canal transits, is also expected to reduce the volume of cargo that diverted to air freight during peak disruption periods, creating additional competitive headwinds for the sector in the months ahead.
For Ghana’s exporters, particularly those moving perishables, minerals, and manufactured goods by air, the sustained rate improvement on Africa-origin corridors and the continued expansion of air cargo capacity to and from the continent present a window of competitive opportunity, provided that ground-side logistics infrastructure and customs processes keep pace with the growth in air freight activity.
