July 29, 2026, (Inside AI) — The global AI build-out is redrawing Asia's air cargo map, replacing e-commerce as the primary growth engine for freight carriers. Korean Air Lines reported a 46% surge in cargo revenue to 1.54 trillion won ($1.07 billion) in the second quarter, driven by AI chips, server racks, and data center infrastructure rather than the Chinese e-commerce parcels that dominated after the pandemic.
The shift reflects a structural realignment. Multi-year orders for advanced memory chips and processors, coupled with hundreds of billions of dollars in planned data center investment, are creating sustained demand that airlines say is unusually visible. Jaedong Eum, executive vice president and head of Korean Air's cargo business, noted that orders for high-bandwidth memory chips stretch two to three years into the future, with demand still exceeding supply.
"Advanced high-tech cargo has rapidly expanded as a core growth driver," Jaedong Eum, executive vice president and head of Korean Air's cargo business.
Meanwhile, e-commerce air freight is faltering. Tighter low-value import rules in the U.S. and Europe are dampening the cross-border trade that had been the industry's biggest growth pillar. The U.S. ended duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China last year, and the European Union abolished its own duty-free threshold this month. Fast-fashion retailer Shein said those changes had hurt its U.S. business and were expected to create further headwinds in Europe.
"E-commerce was air freight's single biggest growth pillar, but that is no longer the case," Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at Xeneta.
Global semiconductor sales more than doubled year-on-year in April, the strongest growth since records began in 1986, according to Xeneta. By contrast, China's low-value and e-commerce exports fell 7% in May, marking a sixth consecutive monthly decline. This divergence is reshaping trade routes across Asia, with Japan exporting semiconductor manufacturing equipment, South Korea producing advanced memory chips, and Taiwan remaining the center of leading-edge chip production. Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore are emerging as increasingly important manufacturing and assembly hubs for AI servers destined for North America and Europe.
Airlines are reorganizing networks around these new flows. Japan Airlines said technology products accounted for about 80% of the increase in air exports from Asia excluding China over the past year. It has expanded freighter services linking semiconductor hubs such as Taipei, Bangkok, and Hanoi with Tokyo's Narita airport. ANA Holdings is integrating Nippon Cargo Airlines to shift more large freighters onto trans-Pacific and European routes while using its Asian network to funnel semiconductor cargo from manufacturing hubs. In Taiwan, China Airlines has added Southeast Asia freighter flights as manufacturers diversify production, and EVA Airways said AI-related shipments now account for up to half of its cargo revenue.
Freight throughput at Singapore's Changi Airport grew 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. But the surge is also stretching infrastructure. Dimerco Express Group said AI and semiconductor shipments had filled Taiwan's Taipei air cargo hub to capacity in July, keeping freight space tight on routes to the U.S. and within Asia.
AI hardware requires different handling from traditional air freight because shipments often include delicate, high-value semiconductor manufacturing equipment, graphics processors, and complete server racks. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates AI-related goods accounted for 53.5% of the value of goods carried by air in 2025 while making up just 7% of cargo volume. Unlike much e-commerce cargo, AI hardware is compact, extremely valuable, and often time-critical to keep data center projects on schedule, making air transport worth the premium. To adapt, Cathay Pacific Airways has introduced software that automatically determines how sensitive semiconductor equipment and AI hardware should be loaded and secured inside aircraft.
Economists note that the shift mirrors earlier transitions in global trade, such as the rise of just-in-time manufacturing in the 1980s, which similarly reshaped logistics networks around high-value, time-sensitive goods. A recent OECD report highlights how AI-driven industrial policies are accelerating investment in semiconductor fabrication and data centers, reinforcing the long-term nature of this demand. Korean Air's Eum said, "As major tech companies introduce next-generation AI processors and continue their long-term infrastructure commitments, we anticipate strong cargo demand to persist through the second half of 2026."
