Hardware such as AI chips and servers are "scrambling for" air freight capacity, pushing the air cargo demand from Asia to North America up by 14.7% and recording growth for 5 consecutive months! Korean Air: The strong demand will last until the second half of 2026.
A new global air cargo cycle led by AI is kicking off.
Core hardware such as AI servers and chips worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are pouring into air transport "regardless of cost", replacing e-commerce as the new engine driving the growth of the air freight market.
Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that in 2025, AI-related goods accounted for only 7% of the total cargo volume, but contributed 53.5% of the total air freight value. As one of the major international routes, the Asia-North America route saw a 14.7% growth in cargo demand in June this year, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth.
"We believe AI is gradually becoming a structural driver of air cargo demand, especially in the field of high-value, time-sensitive tech products," Vincent Wong, Asia Air Freight Director of C.H. Robinson, a Fortune 500 company in the United States, said in an interview with a reporter from National Business Daily (hereinafter referred to as NBD reporter).
And air cargo may also become a brand new window to peek into the prosperity of the AI industry. Niall van de Wouw, Chief Air Freight Officer of air cargo analytics firm Xeneta, said bluntly, "AI demand is driving global (air freight) data growth, and no one knows how long it will last. But there is no sign yet that AI's driving effect on air freight will level off."
Image source: NBD Media Asset Library
The fastest-growing route from Asia to North America: AI chips, server architecture and data center infrastructure serve as the main growth engine
The growth engine of the global air freight market is shifting.
The performance of Korean Air Lines is a clear signal. Its cargo revenue in the second quarter of 2026 soared 46% to 1.54 trillion won (about 1.07 billion US dollars). Company executive Jaedong Eum explicitly stated that AI chips, server racks and data center infrastructure have replaced e-commerce cargo as its main growth engine.
According to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global air cargo demand rose 8.5% year-on-year in June this year, among which the Asia-North America route grew by 14.7%, the fastest growth among major international routes, and has recorded growth for five consecutive months. Based on the full-year cargo data of 2025, this route accounts for about 23.5% of the global air cargo market share.
Strong demand has directly pushed up prices. Data from shipping data analytics platform Xeneta shows that on the routes from Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia to North America with the strongest demand, the spot freight rates at the end of July were 33% higher than those at the end of February. In contrast, the spot freight rate on the Europe-North America route at the end of July was 27% lower than that at the end of February.
IATA estimated in a 2026 report that in 2025, AI-related goods accounted for only 7% of the total cargo volume, but contributed as high as 53.5% of the total air freight value.
80% of Asia's air export growth comes from tech products, strong demand will last through the second half of 2026
Image source: National Business Daily, Zhu Yu
The key hubs on Asia's semiconductor supply chain are rapidly emerging as new market hotspots.
"This is not driven by a single country or market alone, but by a highly interconnected regional industrial ecosystem. Demand related to the new-generation AI server platform is creating more concentrated pressure in some major Asian origins such as Chinese Taiwan," Vincent Wong said.
Wong further explained to the NBD reporter, "Chinese Taiwan is a critical hub for advanced semiconductor and AI server production. Other Asian markets are also widely involved in semiconductor manufacturing, components, equipment and electronic product assembly. For example, South Korea plays a key role in advanced memory products required by AI systems."
The concentrated influx of demand has left capacity tight at some hubs. International freight forwarder Dimerco pointed out in its July market report: "Apart from Chinese Taiwan, countries and regions including South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore remain among the markets with the tightest air freight capacity, especially on routes to and from the United States and Europe."
Lin Qingjie, Executive Vice President of Air Hub & Cargo Development of Changi Airport Group in Singapore, said that driven by strong global semiconductor demand, Changi Airport's cargo throughput in the first half of the year increased by 8.7% year-on-year.
To adapt to this new flow of goods, airlines are actively restructuring their route networks. Japan Airlines said that over the past year, about 80% of the growth in Asia's air exports excluding China came from tech products, and semiconductors and AI-related hardware are reshaping the regional cargo landscape. The company has decided to expand freighter services connecting semiconductor hubs such as Taipei, Bangkok and Hanoi with Tokyo Narita Airport.
Korean Air said, "As major tech companies launch next-generation AI processors and continue to fulfill their long-term infrastructure commitments, we expect strong cargo demand to last through the second half of 2026."
Air freight costs several times more than sea freight, why do AI hardware still choose to "travel by air"?
Image source: NBD Media Asset Library
The extreme reliance of AI-related equipment on air freight is the result of the combined effect of three core factors: value, project schedule and technology iteration.
According to IATA's report, these goods are usually small in size, extremely high in value and time-sensitive, making air transport an indispensable mode of transportation. Some key AI components are highly dependent on air transport: for example, 56% of servers are transported by air, 68% of data storage units, and almost 100% of memory chips are shipped via air.
"AI hardware tends to be transported by air mainly because such goods are extremely high in value," Vincent Wong analyzed to the NBD reporter. "The equipment value carried by a single AI server rack can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. If transported by sea, the journey of several weeks will not only tie up a large amount of capital, but also bring additional risks." For such high-value goods, the speed, reliability and safety provided by air transport can effectively reduce the capital occupation cost in transit and the risk of physical damage.
Project schedule is another key factor. "For hyperscale cloud service providers and large tech companies, delays (in data center launch) can bring significant operational and financial impacts," Vincent Wong emphasized. "Air transport can shorten the transportation time of several weeks by sea to just a few days, which is especially critical when the equipment must be in place before a specific deployment date."
The last factor is the pressure of technology iteration. The technology iteration cycle of AI chips and hardware is very short, and enterprises need to quickly deliver the latest products to the market via air transport to maintain competitive advantages. Jaedong Eum from Korean Air pointed out that the demand for AI hardware is very "substantial", with orders extending two to three years into the future, which reflects the long-term planning and sense of urgency of the whole industry for future technology deployment.
"Depending on specific routes, goods and market conditions, air freight costs can be several times higher than sea freight, but enterprises do not only consider freight charges when making transportation decisions," Vincent Wong pointed out. Customers will comprehensively consider the total cost caused by delays, inventory holding costs, and the value created by whether the equipment can be put into operation on schedule. When factors of high cargo value, high time sensitivity, short technology cycle and high delay cost are superimposed, air transport often becomes a more reasonable or even the only choice in terms of overall economic benefits.
Air freighters may become the "barometer" of the AI industry's prosperity
As AI evolves from a periodic trend to a structural force driving the global air freight market, this traditional logistics industry may also become a "barometer" to understand the prosperity of the AI industry.
"Air cargo is very close to the actual flow of tech products. If the transportation of AI and tech-related goods in major Asian markets continues to decline, while the demand for high-end air cargo capacity weakens and freight rates fall, it may mean that the AI-driven demand cycle is starting to slow down," Vincent Wong told the NBD reporter.
However, he also said, "We will observe whether these signals change at the same time, instead of making judgments based on only one indicator."
According to Vincent Wong, "Upstream in the supply chain, we will pay attention to semiconductor orders, wafer demand and chip packaging delivery cycles in the Asian market. If the tight capacity begins to ease and the delivery cycle is significantly shortened, it may be one of the early signals that the previous production boom is starting to cool down."
He also added that the inventory level at major hubs is also a key indicator. "If the residence time of components in the warehouse becomes longer, or the inventory accumulation speed begins to exceed the shipment speed, that may also be another early warning signal."
This article is from the WeChat official account "National Business Daily", Author: NBD Reporter, published by 36Kr with authorization.