The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets for June, showing a 9.9% improvement on pre-COVID-19 performance (June 2019). This pushed the first half-year air cargo growth to 8%, its most robust first-half performance since 2017 (when the industry posted 10.2% year-on-year growth).As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons to follow are to June 2019, which followed a typical demand pattern.Global demand for June 2021, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs*), was up 9.9% compared to June 2019.Regional variations in performance are significant. North American carriers contributed 5.9 percentage points (ppts) to the 9.9% growth rate in June. Middle East carriers contributed 2.1 ppts, European airlines 1.6 ppts, African airlines 0.5 ppts and Asia-Pacific carriers 0.3 ppts. Latin American carriers did not support the growth, shaving 0.5 ppts off the total.