News / Air cargo demand eases on approach to CNY

© Evgenii Naumov

Asia-Pacific air cargo demand is easing as February looms, with only limited pre-Chinese New Year uplift expected, and pricing on the main long-haul lanes likely to remain stable, or soften slightly.

Dimerco’s February 2026 Asia Pacific report says demand from Asia to the US and Europe is “easing slightly as February begins”, with “only a modest pre-Chinese New Year uplift expected”, adding that a “continued slowdown in ecommerce volumes since January is likely to carry into February, keeping spot rates on US and European lanes stable or under mild downward pressure”.

It also notes that while long-haul conditions may soften, intra-Asia demand is holding up more firmly and capacity is expected to tighten on certain regional flows as CNY approaches.

Kathy Liu, VP global sales & marketing, noted: “Intra-Asia demand is still holding up well versus last year, even though it’s below the Q4 peak. With Chinese New Year approaching, we expect space to tighten, especially on China-to-Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Thailand routes.”

The softer tone is reinforced by pricing data from TAC Index. In its 26 January bulletin, TAC said global air freight rates “eased a little lower again” last week, with the global Baltic Air Freight Index down 3.3% week on week to 26 January, and down 6.1% year on year, with “little sign yet of an early rise in rates some have been expecting due to front-loading ahead of Chinese New Year”.

TAC noted a mixed lane pattern out of China with rates lower week on week to the US, but higher to Europe, while pricing out of Hong Kong continued to trend down and Shanghai slipped slightly week on week, but remained narrowly positive year on year. TAC Index also highlighted broadly weaker week-on-week pricing across much of Asia, with Vietnam a notable exception where rates were rising week on week to both Europe and the US.

However, according to Freightos FAX, globally, the index has risen since 26 January, from $2.2 to $2.44 now. South-east Asia to North America has picked up since 24 January, from $4.45 to $4.88. However, China to Europe has fallen slightly, while South-east Asia to Europe has fallen $1 in the past two days.

The overall picture is of a market heading into February with softer long-haul demand and easing rates. Freighter capacity, according to Rotate, grew 1% week on week to 25 January.