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A spike in e-commerce is driving increased air cargo demand in the first half of 2024.
“With the rise of social commerce and online marketplaces, online shopping is growing and crossing borders fast,” Pablo Ciano, chief executive at DHL eCommerce, said a June 26 report. “Businesses that leverage this trend and understand both global and local market preferences will grow with it.”
And between January and May, e-commerce contributed to a 20% year-over-year increase in air cargo chargeable weight for the Asia Pacific region as well as a 22% YoY increase for the Middle East and South Asia regions, according to a report released June 24 by statistics company WorldACD.
“The number of online shoppers will increase to 2.77 billion in 2025, reflecting the boom in e-commerce due to the increased internet penetration and convenience” as global e-commerce sales will surpass $6.3 trillion in 2024, an 8.76% YoY increase from 2023, a June 27 information technology company Global Data report states.
DHL’s 2024 e-commerce trends report, released June 26, surveyed 12,000 consumers from 24 countries about their online shopping habits and priorities in the first half of the year. It found that:
DHL’s report also indicated that for online marketplaces:
The report correlates with trends seen in recent air cargo traffic reports that show limited capacity and stronger demand compared with the same period last year. In some cases, 20% to 30% of global capacity is being reserved for e-commerce shipments, Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, told Air Cargo Next.
With the rise of Chinese manufacturers Shein, Temu and Alibaba, new online retailers are taking advantage of the business models, which offer discounted merchandise and free shipping options, and targeting consumers via social media, DHL’s report indicated.
While increased demand is positive for the air cargo industry, the swell of e-commerce imports is causing some regulators to examine de minimis policies. In the United States, de minimis allows imported goods under $800 to be duty- and tax-free.
While big retailers Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba got an early jump on this tax-free advantage, “there are thousands of [other retailers] out there that are all selling products online out of Asia,” Fried said.
While Temu and Shein are battling for market share, Amazon is trying to figure out its next move, Fried said. This could include some future delivery fees that may deter online shoppers, he said.
“There are other pieces of legislation that want to actually lower the dividends back to levels that they were in the past,” Fried said. “So those are threats now. Will these legislative initiatives see the light of day? I would doubt it at this point, because the cat’s already out of the bag. I mean, the American consumer wants to shop online.”
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