AI chip and data center cargo is redrawing Asia air freight as e-commerce slows

The global race to build artificial intelligence is redrawing Asia's air cargo map, with airlines redesigning networks around semiconductor manufacturing hubs as cross-border e-commerce loses momentum, Reuters reported from Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Unlike the post-pandemic parcel boom, demand tied to AI infrastructure is underpinned by multi-year orders for advanced memory chips and processors and hundreds of billions of dollars of planned investment in data centres, airlines and logistics companies said. Tighter low-value import rules in the U.S. and Europe are dampening the cross-border e-commerce trade that has driven much of the industry's recent growth. Korean Air Lines said cargo revenue surged 46% in the second quarter to 1.54 trillion won ($1.07 billion), driven by AI chips, server racks and data centre infrastructure that had replaced e-commerce shipments from China as its primary growth engine. Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at Xeneta, said e-commerce was no longer air freight's single biggest growth pillar when the freight analytics firm issued its mid-year outlook. Cathay Pacific Airways said it had introduced software that automatically determines how sensitive semiconductor equipment and AI hardware should be loaded and secured. 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. Korean Air's cargo head said the airline anticipates strong cargo demand through the second half of 2026 as major tech companies introduce next-generation AI processors.