Air cargo buyers are shortening their commitments at every level of the chain. Between shippers and forwarders, 60% of new contracts starting in Q3 2026 ran for three months or less, up from 25% a year earlier. Three-month deals alone rose from 16% to 42%, while contracts of six months or longer fell from 53% to 28%. With jet fuel at roughly double its pre-conflict level and demand still outpacing supply, a fixed one-year rate no longer fits the market. Shippers are using three-month deals as a bridge while they negotiate “floating mechanisms”, where a base rate is adjusted in line with the market. Forwarders are doing the same when they buy from airlines. The spot share of forwarder–airline deals has stayed elevated around 48% in Q3 2026. That is close to the 50% high of 2020 and above the 45–47% range of recent years.
