As the industry approaches the apex of peak season, Western Europe to the US air cargo spot rates (valid for up to one month) reached USD 2.44 per kg in the week ending 16 November—up by +22% over the past four weeks.
Yet compared with a year earlier, the corridor recorded a hefty -10% decline. Rates on the route are cooling faster than the global average, which slipped by -5% year-on-year over the same period. The faster deceleration marks a sharp contrast with the corridor’s earlier run of outperformance at a time when global air cargo rates have been falling annually since May.
A closer look at individual US destinations shows a more uneven picture. Dallas–Fort Worth and Miami, despite offering some of the industry’s fattest yields, each saw rates drop by more than -10% year-on-year in the week ending 16 November. Chicago suffered the steepest drop: yields there plunged by -24%, knocking the airport from second to fifth place, to USD 2.69 per kg. By contrast, air spot rates to San Francisco, Seattle, Washington and Philadelphia enjoyed gains of roughly +20% over the same period.
