Global air cargo rates climbed to their highest point of 2026 in the week ending April 5, reaching $3.10 per kilogram as persistent Middle East disruptions, rising demand, and tighter capacity continued to push freight costs upward across the world’s main trade corridors.
The figures, drawn from more than 500,000 weekly transactions tracked by WorldACD Market Data, cover Week 14 of 2026, spanning March 30 to April 5, and were published on April 9.
The $3.10 per kilogram average represents a 21% jump over the $2.56 per kilogram recorded in the same week last year, and marks a sustained climb from the $2.42 per kilogram logged in the week of March 2 to 8. On a two-week-on-two-week (2Wo2W) basis, worldwide rates rose 11%, while chargeable weight declined 1% compared to the preceding two weeks.
Africa emerged as the standout region in the latest data. Rates from African origins rose 13% in the two-week comparison period and are up 25% year on year, among the strongest annual gains of any origin region. Chargeable weight from Africa fell 4% against the preceding two weeks but remains 9% below the same period last year, a pattern consistent with ongoing capacity constraints on routes touching Gulf transit hubs.
The Middle East and South Asia (MESA) corridor continued to record the most extreme year-on-year rate movement, with prices 64% above their level in the same period of 2025 despite a 29% decline in capacity year on year. Chargeable weight from the region rose 3% in the two-week comparison but remains sharply below pre-conflict levels.
Europe-origin rates rose 28% year on year, with chargeable weight up 5% in the 2Wo2W comparison. Asia Pacific recorded a 12% annual rate gain and flat chargeable weight on a 2Wo2W basis, while North America rates were 17% above the same period last year.
In region-to-region flows, the data show rates from Middle East and South Asia to Europe rising 11% in the last two weeks, while Asia Pacific to North America rates increased 14%. Africa to Europe rates rose 8% in the same comparison period.
Worldwide capacity contracted 1% on a 2Wo2W basis and is down 2% year on year, indicating the market remains structurally tight as airlines approach the summer scheduling period. Analysts have noted that a gradual return of capacity, though still well below pre-conflict levels across Gulf corridors, is now broadly sufficient to meet demand in some markets, even as rate pressures persist.
