African air cargo demand falls 13.4% in March 2025, reports IATA

African airlines reported the sharpest decline in air cargo demand among all regions in March 2025, according to data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on 29 April 2025. Demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), dropped by 13.4% compared to March 2024, even as cargo capacity rose by 10.5% year-on-year. Most of this additional capacity came from the bellyhold of passenger aircraft.

The mismatch between supply and demand led to a significant decline in the cargo load factor, which fell by 10.4 percentage points to 37.1%. This indicates that only slightly more than one-third of available capacity was utilised by the market during the month.

“March cargo volumes were strong. It is possible that this is partly a front-loading of demand as some businesses tried to beat the well-telegraphed 2 April tariff announcement by the Trump Administration. The uncertainty over how much of the 2 April proposals will be implemented may eventually weigh on trade. In the meantime, the lower fuel costs—which are also a result of the same uncertainty—are a short-term positive factor for air cargo. And, within the temporary pause on implementation we hope that political leaders will be able to shift trade tensions to reliable agreements that can restore confidence in global supply chains,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The figures contrast sharply with other global regions, several of which reported year-on-year demand growth. While capacity expanded in Africa, the low utilisation rate highlights ongoing structural and market challenges in aligning available space with shipment volumes.

Global air cargo demand increased by 4.4% year-on-year in March 2025, according to the IATA data. It shows a corresponding 4.3% rise in available capacity compared to March 2024. The demand growth, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), marks a record March performance, with international operations seeing a stronger 5.5% increase. The rise comes amid global trade uncertainties, potential tariff shifts, and fuel cost fluctuations.

IATA has not attributed a single cause to the decline in African demand, but global trade uncertainty, shifts in sourcing patterns, and weak regional connectivity may have influenced the performance.