Expeditors air freight up 13% on demand from cloud companies

The news

Expeditors International of Washington’s airfreight tonnage rose 13% year over year in the third quarter, setting a record for the forwarder. Demand from hyperscalers and the suppliers building their AI infrastructure helped drive the increase.

Growth accelerated through the quarter, from 8% in July to 13% in August and 19% in September.
“Demand from certain customers, such as the hyperscalers, has been outpacing the market overall,” said CEO Daniel Wall.

The details

Air capacity remained tight during the quarter, keeping freight rates elevated.

Limited fleet growth and delays in new aircraft deliveries constrained available space.
Aircraft redeployments also affected capacity on Asia-Europe routes, particularly for e-commerce shipments.
Expeditors said demand outpaced available capacity. Its airfreight services revenue rose 51% to $1.54 billion, reflecting higher freight rates and increased volumes.

Expeditors’ airfreight growth also outpaces global demand, though the two are measured differently. Expeditors reports tonnage by weight, while IATA measures demand in cargo tonne-kilometres, which multiply weight by distance flown.

Global air cargo demand rose 7.7% YoY, per IATA. North American carriers recorded the strongest regional growth, at 11.8%, while Asia-North America traffic climbed 17% for its eighth consecutive month of growth.
IATA said AI-related shipments helped support trans-Pacific demand.
Expeditors’ growth was driven primarily by South Asia, where export tonnage increased the most.

Expeditors’ airfreight tonnage growth accelerated from 8% in July to 19% in September 2026, while global air cargo demand growth rose from 3.9% to 7.7%.

Beyond air, customs and ocean also grew. Customs brokerage and other services revenue rose 29% to $1.46 billion. Demand from AI hyperscalers and other high-value technology customers supported the business.

Tariff-related additional-line fees and post-entry work also contributed, though Expeditors said new business wins and higher declaration volumes drove growth in the latest quarter.
Ocean container volume rose 7%, led by Asian exports. September volume was up 12%.
Three consecutive typhoons and congestion at major Asian ports and transshipment hubs disrupted capacity during the quarter.

What peers are doing

Kuehne+Nagel’s airfreight volume grew 10% in the third quarter, with cloud infrastructure and semiconductor customers among its growth drivers. DSV’s air volume fell 3% to 561,000 tonnes, although gross profit per tonne rose 8%.