• Spot rates for air freight from the Asia-Pacific region continued to rise ahead of Black Friday, increasing by four percent week-on-week to US$4.11 per kilo.
• US prices reached US$5.51 per kilogram, supported by strong demand from Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, although annual levels remain lower.
• Southeast Asia is seeing the strongest year-over-year growth, with shipments to the United States rising by forty percent in October, reflecting shifting supply chains and rising demand for semiconductors.
Air freight rates continued to rise in the run-up to Black Friday and Thanksgiving, driven by further increases in spot rates from Asia-Pacific to the US and Europe, according to the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data. Tonnages and rates within Asia also increased.
The report covers developments over the past five weeks up to Sunday 16 November 2025.
Average spot prices from Asia-Pacific origins rose four percent week-on-week to US$4.11 per kilo in the second full week of November (Week 46: 10-16 November). Loads from the region also increased by one percent during this key retail period.
Spot prices from the Asia-Pacific region to the United States rose another four percent week-on-week to US$5.51 per kilo. This was driven by a sharp recovery in Japan, where tonnages increased by sixteen percent and spot prices by ten percent following the national holiday the previous week. South Korea recorded an increase of thirteen percent, and Vietnam recorded an increase of eight percent. However, average spot rates from Asia-Pacific to the United States remain 11% lower year-on-year, with the largest declines recorded in Japan (thirty-one percent), Singapore (nineteen percent), Indonesia (nineteen percent), Vietnam (seventeen percent), South Korea (ten percent), and Hong Kong (eight percent).
As we highlighted last week, Asia-Pacific exports to both the US and Europe in late 2024 saw exceptionally strong demand and severe capacity constraints, particularly from China, due to rising e-commerce volumes. This means that current year-on-year comparisons are challenging, although rates are still relatively high by historical standards.
Air cargo loads from the Asia-Pacific region to the United States remain much higher year-on-year despite the imposition of higher tariffs and small restrictions on US imports from China and other markets since April. Although tonnages from China (down two percent year-on-year), Hong Kong (down sixteen percent), and South Korea (down ten percent) were below year-ago levels in week 46, the region overall recorded a six percent increase year-on-year.
Strong growth from Southeast Asia to the United States
Loadings from Taiwan and Southeast Asia have driven most of the region’s annual growth to the United States in recent months. According to a new WorldACD analysis, demand from Southeast Asia to the United States rose by forty percent year-on-year in October, the highest full monthly growth figure of the year. During the first ten months of 2025, tonnage from Southeast Asia to the United States rose by about twenty-six percent on average.
In contrast, annual tonnages from China and Hong Kong to the United States fell by about six percent year-on-year, despite exports to Europe rising by about eight percent. Year-to-date loads from Southeast Asia to Europe have fallen by approximately six percent.
These patterns reflect a broader shift as American importers diversify their sources away from China. For countries like Taiwan, it also highlights exceptionally strong demand for high-performance semiconductor chips, including those used in artificial intelligence. Air imports from Taiwan have consistently risen by thirty to fifty percent this year, with similar year-on-year increases from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, all major exporters of semiconductors and electronic components. In the forty-sixth week alone, tonnage to the United States from Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia increased by forty-one percent, sixty percent, thirty-seven percent, and sixty-two percent, respectively.
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