Airfreight growth cools
Air Cargo Week reports that fashion and luxury airfreight has entered a 'post‑peak era' where slower growth makes flexibility more valuable than sheer volume. The shift implies more scrutiny around freight decisions, timing and sample planning in campaign production. (aircargoweek.com)
Fashion and luxury airfreight is losing the easy volume growth it enjoyed after the pandemic, and carriers are preparing for smaller, less predictable shipments. (aircargoweek.com) Air Cargo Week reported on April 13 that McKinsey forecasts fashion retail sales in Europe and the United States will stagnate through 2026, with only modest gains in China. The trade paper said Europe’s fashion retail growth fell from double digits in 2022 to 2 percent in 2024, a pace expected to hold through 2026. (aircargoweek.com) That is a sharp change from the recent air-cargo boom. The International Air Transport Association said global air-cargo demand rose 3.4 percent in 2025 to a record level, but full-year yields fell 1.5 percent and the group expects growth to moderate to 2.4 percent in 2026. (iata.org) Airfreight is the fastest and most expensive way to move goods, so fashion brands usually save it for high-value products, late inventory, runway samples, and limited-edition drops. DHL says luxury logistics increasingly depends on premium delivery, tighter security, and more visibility across shipments, not just speed. (dhl.com) The mix of goods is changing too. Air Cargo Week said lower consumer confidence is pushing brands away from bulk replenishment and toward smaller, faster-turning consignments, while some luxury groups are exploring more regional sourcing and distribution. (aircargoweek.com) That leaves freight operators planning for volatility instead of steady surges. DHL Global Forwarding said in its February 2026 market update that growth is now uneven across regions and segments, with “increasingly unpredictable” demand patterns as carriers shift capacity between trade lanes. (dhl.com) The broader fashion industry is also entering 2026 in a defensive mood. McKinsey said 46 percent of executives in its State of Fashion 2026 survey expect conditions to worsen this year, up from 39 percent a year earlier, with tariffs named as the top hurdle. (mckinsey.com) Air cargo is still growing overall, and the International Air Transport Association says e-commerce, artificial-intelligence hardware, and other time-sensitive goods should keep volumes rising by 2.6 percent in 2026. But for fashion and luxury, the old playbook of throwing urgent inventory onto planes is giving way to tighter timing, smaller batches, and closer scrutiny of which shipments really need to fly. (iata.org)
