Expeditors sees air cargo volumes and revenues rise in Q3

Expeditors International has reported a continued surge in air cargo volumes and revenues as a result of hyperscaler demand and rising freight rates.

The US forwarder said that air cargo volumes were up 13% year on year in the third quarter of the year, with an 8% improvement in July, a 13% increase in August and 19% increase in September.

Meanwhile, air revenues were also on the rise, increasing by 51.4% year on year during the quarter to $1.5bn.

Revenues were boosted by higher volumes and also higher airfreight rates, the company said.

Expeditors said that airfreight demand remained strong during the quarter, driven primarily by continued growth in South Asia, where export tonnage increased most notably.

“Hyperscaler demand, which also includes shipments from Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers supporting AI infrastructure, was a significant driver of volume growth, while air capacity remains constrained by limited fleet expansion and ongoing new aircraft delivery delays,” the company added.

“Capacity was also impacted by aircraft redeployments that affected Asia-Europe e-commerce, stemming from European Union regulations meant to curb the flow of de minimis imports.

“At the same time, China-US e-commerce tonnage has nearly recovered to what it was prior to the US termination of de minimis shipments in May 2025. Adding geopolitical events to this mix, airfreight rates remained elevated during the quarter, with demand outpacing available capacity.”

While airfreight revenues and volumes were up, the company also noted an increase in air operating costs, which grew by 52% to $1.2bn.

Air Cargo News calculations show that the company’s airfreight operating margin has actually declined marginally from 24.8% in the third quarter of last year to 24.3% this year.

Airfreight service operating profits (airfreight service revenues minus operating expenses) reached $375m against $253m last year.

The higher operating costs likely stem from higher carrier rates as demand growth has outstripped capacity additions and fuel prices have grown significantly as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

The latest IATA/Platts fuel price monitor figures show that jet fuel costs are up by more than 112% compared with last year.