Air cargo proves crucial to global trade resilience
Air cargo emerged as a vital lifeline for global trade in 2025, helping businesses navigate a year marked by unprecedented policy uncertainty and supporting economic growth amid disruptive conditions.
According to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) report released on Tuesday, rapidly shifting US trade policies, including tariff hikes and tightened import rules, forced companies worldwide to adapt quickly, and air transport proved critical to their strategies.
IATA said that businesses relied on two main approaches: frontloading shipments to the United States to pre-empt higher tariffs and redirecting trade to alternative markets. Air cargo enabled U$157 billion in additional US imports in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 82% of the total year-on-year increase. In contrast, shipments via other transport modes rose by only 6%, highlighting air freight’s unmatched speed, flexibility, and reliability for high-value, time-sensitive goods.
Trade restructuring
Trade restructuring also relied heavily on air transport. Companies diversified suppliers and redirected exports away from the US towards Europe and other Asian markets. Data show that between the second and fourth quarters of 2025, air cargo accounted for 82% of gains on expanding US trade lanes and 48% of gains on expanding European lanes, while representing a much smaller share of losses on contracting lanes. These figures underline the role of air cargo in facilitating rapid adjustments to changing global trade flows.
Beyond trade policy, IATA said that 2025 saw a surge in investment in artificial intelligence (AI), which became a key driver of global economic growth.
“Total trade in AI-related goods reached nearly US$4 trillion, with around three-quarters of this trade carried by air. High-value and time-critical components, such as memory chips, data servers, and specialised equipment, depend almost entirely on air freight. AI-related goods accounted for 53.5% of the value of air-transported trade, despite representing just 7% of its volume. By enabling the timely movement of these goods, air cargo ensured that AI investment translated into economic activity rather than being constrained by logistics,” according to the report.
Overall growth
The impact of air cargo was reflected in overall trade and economic growth. Global trade expanded by 2.4% in 2025, exceeding forecasts from major institutions, while global GDP grew by 3.2% despite policy headwinds. Without air transport, frontloading and trade restructuring would have been slower and more limited, likely resulting in weaker trade, higher inflationary pressures, and lower growth.
IATA said that air cargo’s role extends beyond crisis response. “It handles high-value goods, pharmaceuticals, perishables, and sensitive materials that cannot be efficiently moved by sea or land. Less than 1% of global trade by weight is transported by air, yet it accounts for nearly a third of trade by value, reflecting its unique capacity to support economic resilience and structural adaptation.”
The experience of 2025 reinforces air cargo’s position as a cornerstone of the global trade ecosystem. By absorbing short-term shocks, enabling supplier diversification, and supporting emerging growth sectors like AI, air transport contributes both to immediate trade continuity and long-term economic adaptation, the report stated.
As policy uncertainty persists and demand for high-value, time-sensitive goods continues to grow, air cargo is expected to remain an essential enabler of global trade resilience into 2026 and beyond, demonstrating that logistics and speed can be just as critical to economic stability as capital and policy.
