Surging demand for artificial intelligence chips and data centre hardware is redrawing Asia's air freight landscape, lifting carrier revenues while traditional e-commerce shipments decline.
Cargo revenue at Korean Air Lines jumped 46 percent in the second quarter to 1.54 trillion won ($1.07 billion), propelled by shipments of AI chips, server racks and data centre infrastructure. EVA Airways said AI-related cargo now accounts for up to half of its freight revenue, while technology products drove roughly 80 percent of the increase in Asian air exports outside China over the past year, according to Japan Airlines. Dimerco Express Group said AI and semiconductor shipments filled Taipei's air cargo hub to capacity in July.
The shift comes as China's low-value and e-commerce exports fell for a sixth straight month in May, following the European Union's abolition of its duty-free threshold this month. Dimerco's chief executive likened AI's impact on the information industry to the Industrial Revolution's effect on manufacturing, as global data centre demand is projected to nearly triple by 2030.