The International Air Transport Association (IATA) highlighted three priorities for the global air cargo industry at its cargo summit in Peru. The priorities include:
- Accelerating digitalisation;
- Strengthening global standards;
- Enhancing safety and security.
“Air cargo plays a critical role in connecting businesses to global markets and keeping supply chains moving, even as the operating environment becomes more complex. With so many external events impacting global supply chains—including the tariff and geopolitical shocks—it is important that we work on building resilience in areas we can control or influence. Working together to strengthen digitalisation, global standards, and supply chain security will position air cargo well to continue supporting economic growth by connecting products to markets,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo at the opening of the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Lima, Peru.
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“Air cargo data still sits in fragmented systems across the supply chain, creating duplication, delays, and compliance risks. This is particularly challenging for high-volume segments such as e-commerce, where house waybill data must remain aligned with airline master air waybill records across multiple systems and jurisdictions. ONE Record represents a foundational shift in how the industry shares, manages, and trusts data across the supply chain,” said Sullivan.
From January 2026, ONE Record, the standard for end-to-end cargo data sharing, became the preferred method for cargo data exchange. While airlines accounting for more than 70% of global air waybill volumes are on track for implementation, progress can be accelerated with:
- More airlines and forwarders scaling implementation,
- Governments accepting ONE Record data in regulatory filings, and
- Technology providers building and deploying secure, interoperable platforms.
To ensure that global standards are implemented consistently and that cargo can move efficiently across borders, IATA is focusing on strengthening global standards in two key areas:
- Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR): The number of state and operator variations for the handling of dangerous goods has grown to over 1,200. This adds complexity in an industry where safety is built on global standards. While variations will always exist, IATA emphasized that they should remain transparent, justified, and as closely aligned as possible with global standards.
- Airport slots: Fair access to infrastructure is essential for efficient cargo operations. At some major hubs—including Bogotá, Dubai, Heathrow, and Gatwick—cargo carriers often receive only temporary or ad hoc slots rather than historic allocations. This limits operational flexibility and long-term planning. IATA emphasized that slot allocation should follow the principles set out in the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines, ensuring access is fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory.
“Global standards and fair access to infrastructure are essential. As global trade evolves, aligning regulatory requirements and ensuring transparent slot allocation will be critical to maintaining reliable air cargo connectivity,” said Sullivan.
Continued focus is needed to ensure that dangerous goods safety frameworks and cargo security processes across the supply chain keep pace with evolving operational and security risks.
- Dangerous goods safety: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 18 is the global foundation for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air. However, modernization is needed to ensure regulations reflect today’s digital and fast-moving supply chains and address emerging risks such as undeclared dangerous goods and lithium battery misuse.
- Cargo security: Air cargo supply chains are potential targets for malicious disruption, underscoring the need for consistent and modern security processes. The cargo Consignment Security Declaration (CSD) is a critical compliance tool, but implementation remains uneven across jurisdictions. IATA called for the wider adoption of electronic CSD (e-CSD) solutions to improve data accuracy, reduce manual processes, and support more efficient security oversight. IATA also highlighted the need for greater alignment across pre-loading advance cargo information programs.
“Safety and security are shared responsibilities across the entire cargo ecosystem. Modernising global frameworks and strengthening cooperation between governments and industry will be essential to ensuring that global trade continues to move safely and securely,” said Sullivan.
Air cargo enabled $157 billion in front-loaded trade
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a report, showing air cargo’s vital role in sustaining global trade and supporting economic growth in 2025 amid severe trade policy uncertainty. Two key report findings are that:
- Air cargo enabled the front-loading of $157 billion US imports in the first quarter of 2025.
- Air cargo transported more than two thirds of global AI-related goods in 2025.
These activities supported global trade growth of 2.4% in 2025—well above initial forecasts by the World Trade Organization. Global GDP also expanded by 3.2% despite significant policy headwinds. “Air cargo is a structural component of global economic resilience. In 2025, it helped businesses absorb tariff shocks, enabled rapid trade restructuring, and supported the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) investment, helping sustain trade and economic growth in a challenging year,” said Julia Seiermann, IATA’s Head of Industry Analysis.
In 2025, average applied US tariff rates rose to around 17%—their highest level since the 1930s—with frequent policy shifts and increased trade friction. Many companies used air cargo to pre-empt tariffs by accelerating shipments. In the first quarter of 2025, US imports rose by $193 billion year-on-year—a 26% increase. The surge was overwhelmingly concentrated in air transport. The value of imports by air in the first quarter increased 81% year-on-year, totaling $157 billion (82% of the $193 billion Q1 increase).
In addition to the frontloading surge, companies began restructuring supply chains to reduce tariff exposure. US importers shifted sourcing away from heavily tariff-exposed partners, while exporters redirected shipments toward alternative markets—particularly in Europe.
Air cargo’s ability to enable the rapid geographical reallocation of high-value and time-sensitive trade in response to policy shocks was clearly demonstrated. During the April-December 2025 period, air cargo benefited from expanding trade lanes much more than it was impacted by those trade lanes which contracted.
For the US, on expanding trade lanes, imports increased by $213 billion of which $174 billion (82%) was carried by air. Meanwhile, on contracting trade lanes, US imports declined by $257 billion of which $77 billion (30%) was normally carried by air cargo. In Europe, a similar pattern was observed: air cargo carried 48% of gains on expanding lanes but only 3% of losses on contracting ones.
As AI investment surged in 2025, air cargo efficiently and reliably delivered high-value, time-sensitive equipment such as servers, data storage units, and memory chips.
In 2025:
- More than two thirds of the value of AI-related trade was carried by air.
- Air cargo consignments of AI-related goods grew 20% year-on-year.
- AI-related goods accounted for 53.5% of the total value of air-transported trade, while representing just 7% of its volume—highlighting the segment’s high value density and strategic importance for the industry.
“The rapid increase in demand for AI-related goods in 2025 was met thanks to air cargo, allowing investment to translate into economic activity rather than being constrained by logistics. As economies increasingly and strategically rely on high-value technology goods, air cargo will continue to play a critical role in ensuring their timely delivery,” said Seiermann.
