WEEKLY NEWS


From the Head of Editorial A


nimal transportation is one of the few cargo


segments where the conversation rarely stays purely commercial for long. Welfare, handling discipline, timing and transparency all sit just as heavily on the balance sheet as yield and capacity.


Airlines and handlers are putting more effort into purpose-


built facilities, more structured training, and tighter coordination with specialist partners who understand the practical realities of moving live animals rather than just the paperwork around it. Even relatively small operational adjustments, such as


reducing unnecessary transfers or handling animals closer to the point of acceptance, are being driven by a simple aim: less stress, fewer touchpoints, better outcomes. But the operational environment is still messy in places.


A live animal shipment is rarely just a flight. It is a chain of handovers that can involve road transport, warehouse time, veterinary checks and sometimes multiple legs. Each stage adds friction. Each delay adds risk. Documentation is still one of the sector’s weak spots.


02


Despite talk of digitalisation across air cargo more broadly, live animal transport remains heavily reliant on physical paperwork in many corridors. When everything aligns, it works. When it does not, things slow down quickly, particularly at border points where missing or incomplete documents can hold a shipment for hours or longer. The industry is not standing still. Handling standards have


improved noticeably compared with a decade ago. Training is more formalised. Specialist infrastructure is more common. There is also a much clearer understanding now that live animal logistics cannot be treated as just another freight category with slightly different packaging rules. It requires its own operating logic. Even so, the system is far from uniform. Some operators are


working with advanced facilities and well-integrated processes, while others are managing within tighter


infrastructure and T: +44 (0)1737 906107 POST-SPIKE MOMENTUM LEVELS OFF BY Edward HARDY GLOBAL airfreight has shifted into a


noticeably more uneven phase after the sharp surge in both rates and volumes seen over the past couple of months, as the initial burst of momentum is starting to


level out, even though underlying


conditions are still anything but relaxed. Looking at the latest weekly figures


from late April into early May, tonnages are still inching higher overall. A lot of that is being driven by familiar seasonal patterns, flower exports out of Central and South America ahead of Mother’s Day, for example, and the usual pre-holiday manufacturing push coming out of Asia. Asia Pacific and Latin America are still moving forward, while Europe and North America have largely flattened off. Africa and parts of the Middle East are still lagging behind. Capacity continues to be the real pressure point. There have been small


ACW 11 MAY 2026


increases in available lift in some regions week to week, but globally we’re still operating below the levels seen before tensions escalated in the Middle East. The biggest gap remains in Middle East- related lanes, where reduced capacity has


created ongoing especially through Gulf hubs surrounding corridors. Spot


bottlenecks, and


rates have


eased slightly week on week, but they remain well above last year’s levels. Asia and Middle East-origin


lanes continue


to show the strongest increases, while Europe and the US are seeing some softening, though it’s relatively modest in the broader context. Demand remains firm on Asia–US supported


lanes, by tech shipments,


e-commerce and ongoing modal shifts from sea freight. Europe, meanwhile, is starting to look more balanced after earlier peaks.


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Overall, the market feels like it’s


settling into a new normal: less chaotic than immediately after the disruption, but still structurally tight


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The ACW Team


more limited digital tools. That imbalance shows up most clearly in cross-border movements, where standards, enforcement and capabilities do not always line up cleanly. Technology is expected to play a bigger role, particularly


in tracking and documentation, but progress is uneven and integration remains a challenge. What live animal transport really does is expose how fragile


coordination can be in airfreight when timing, handling and compliance all need to align perfectly. It is a segment that leaves very little room for approximation. And as expectations continue to rise, the pressure will be less about moving animals faster, and more about moving them in a way that can be consistently accounted for from end to end.


Edward HARDY, Head of Editorial


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