Xeneta for ACN: Airfreight rates up YoY on all major corridors on Middle East conflict and AI

Air cargo spot rates were up year-on-year on every major corridor in week 43 (19–25 October), with lanes into the Middle East still carrying the largest premiums over the same week of 2025 (South Asia–Middle East +80%, Europe–Middle East +77%, South Asia–Europe +66%) as the Middle East conflict kept capacity through the Gulf hubs tight. Out of Asia the picture is split by destination: Northeast Asia–North America (+41%) and Southeast Asia–North America (+37%) were lifted by strong AI server and data-centre hardware shipments, whereas Northeast Asia–Europe rose only +21%, the weakest of the Asia lanes, as the EU’s new €3 flat customs duty on low-value parcels weighed on cross-border e-commerce demand that had previously filled China–Europe capacity. Europe–North America (+26%) also ran ahead of last year, while intra-Americas and Europe–Africa/Latin America lanes posted the smallest gains (+3% to +19%).