For the past three years, cross border e-commerce traffic of Chinese origin has been the main force behind international air cargo growth. However, we think the share of low value direct to consumer traffic on intercontinental routes may have peaked. In fact, for 2026 we expect a drop of around 10%, while growth rates in 2027 and beyond are likely to be less than the strong double-digit rates we have become accustomed to. This article presents our latest outlook through to 2031 and discusses the dynamics around demand, supply, costs and their impact on industry profits.
Posts tagged as “AI”
The party never ends. Just as cross border e-commerce volumes were slowing down, the air cargo business received a major boost from data centre related shipments. But the boom in unevenly distribution with most of the growth taking place on transpacific lanes into the US. Europe – which currently accounts for about 30% of all data centres worldwide – has not seen a noticeable up-tick in traffic.