AI boom reshapes Asia's air cargo as e-commerce demand slows
Dhaka: The global race to build artificial intelligence is reshaping Asia's air cargo networks, prompting airlines to realign routes around semiconductor manufacturing hubs as cross-border e-commerce loses steam.
Unlike the post-pandemic parcel boom, demand tied to AI infrastructure is backed by multi-year orders for advanced memory chips and processors, alongside hundreds of billions of dollars in planned data center investment, according to airlines and logistics firms.
Meanwhile, tighter low-value import rules in the US and Europe are weighing on the cross-border e-commerce trade that had fueled much of the industry's recent growth.
Niall van de Wouw, Chief Airfreight Officer at freight analytics firm Xeneta, said e-commerce was once air freight's biggest growth driver, but that this is no longer the case.
Korean Air Lines offers a clear example of the shift. Cargo revenue jumped 46% in the second quarter to KRW 1.54 trillion (USD 1.07 billion), driven by AI chips, server racks, and data center infrastructure that replaced e-commerce shipments from China as the airline's main growth engine.
Jaedong Eum, the carrier's Executive Vice President and Head of Cargo Business, said advanced high-tech cargo has rapidly become a core growth driver, with orders for memory chips and processors already booked two to three years ahead.
Global semiconductor sales more than doubled year-on-year in April, marking the strongest growth since records began in 1986, Xeneta reported. In contrast, China's low-value and e-commerce exports fell 7% in May, a sixth straight monthly decline.
The US ended duty-free treatment for low-value Chinese imports last year, while the European Union scrapped its own duty-free threshold this month. Fast-fashion retailer Shein said the changes had already hurt its US business and would likely create further headwinds in Europe.
The shifting cargo mix is also redrawing trade routes across the region. Japan supplies semiconductor manufacturing equipment, South Korea produces advanced memory chips, and Taiwan remains the hub of leading-edge chip production, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore are emerging as key AI server assembly centers.
Freight throughput at Singapore's Changi Airport rose 8.7% year-on-year in the first half, driven by strong global semiconductor demand, said Lim Ching Kiat, the airport group's Executive Vice President for Air Hub and Cargo Development.
Japan Airlines said technology products made up about 80% of the increase in air exports from Asia, excluding China, over the past year, and it has expanded freighter links between Taipei, Bangkok, Hanoi, and Tokyo's Narita airport.
In Taiwan, China Airlines added Southeast Asia freighter flights as manufacturers diversified production, lifting cargo volumes 8.1% in the first half. EVA Airways said AI-related shipments now make up as much as half of its cargo revenue.
Airline group IATA estimates AI-related goods accounted for 53.5% of the value of goods carried by air in 2025, despite making up just 7% of cargo volume.
Cathay Pacific Airways said it introduced software that automatically determines how sensitive semiconductor equipment and AI hardware should be loaded and secured aboard aircraft.
The surge is also straining infrastructure, with Dimerco Express Group saying AI and semiconductor shipments filled Taiwan's Taipei air cargo hub to capacity in July, keeping freight space tight on US and intra-Asia routes.
Eum said strong cargo demand is expected to persist through the second half of 2026 as major tech firms roll out next-generation AI processors and continue long-term infrastructure investments.
