The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed that air cargo played a pivotal role in sustaining global trade and supporting the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in 2025, despite significant global trade uncertainties.
In a new report released in Lima, Peru, the aviation body disclosed that air cargo facilitated the frontloading of $157 billion worth of U.S. imports in the first quarter of 2025, as businesses accelerated shipments to avoid rising tariffs.
According to the report, air freight also carried more than two-thirds of global AI-related goods, highlighting the sector’s growing importance in the global technology supply chain.
IATA said these developments helped support global trade growth of 2.4 per cent in 2025, outperforming earlier projections by the World Trade Organisation. Global GDP also expanded by 3.2 per cent during the year, despite major policy headwinds.
IATA’s Head of Industry Analysis, Julia Seiermann, described air cargo as a crucial pillar of economic resilience.
“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 AI investment, helping sustain trade and economic growth in a challenging year”, she said.
Frontloading to Beat Tariffs
The report noted that average U.S. tariff rates climbed to around 17 per cent in 2025, their highest level since the 1930s. Frequent policy shifts and rising trade friction prompted many companies to accelerate shipments using air cargo to avoid additional costs.
During the first quarter of the year, U.S. imports increased by $193 billion year-on-year, representing a 26 per cent surge, with the majority of the growth linked to air transport.
Imports carried by air alone jumped 81 per cent year-on-year to $157 billion, accounting for 82 per cent of the overall increase.
Supply Chains Shift
Businesses also began restructuring global supply chains to reduce tariff exposure. U.S. importers diversified sourcing away from heavily tariffed trading partners, while exporters redirected shipments toward alternative markets, particularly in Europe.
Between April and December 2025, expanding trade routes generated significantly more air cargo demand than contracting routes reduced.
For the U.S., imports on expanding trade lanes rose by $213 billion, with $174 billion (82%) transported by air.
Meanwhile, on contracting trade routes, imports fell by $257 billion, of which only $77 billion (30%) was typically moved by air cargo.
A similar pattern was observed in Europe, where air cargo accounted for 48% of gains on expanding trade routes, but only 3 per cent of losses on shrinking routes.
Fueling the AI Investment Boom
The report also underscored air cargo’s critical role in the global AI supply chain, transporting high-value and time-sensitive equipment such as servers, data storage units, and semiconductor components.
In 2025: More than two-thirds of the value of global AI-related trade was transported by air.
Shipments of AI-related goods grew 20 per cent year-on-year.
AI products represented 53.5 per cent of the total value of goods transported by air, despite accounting for just 7 per cent of cargo volume.
Seiermann noted that the rapid expansion of AI investment would have faced major logistical constraints without air cargo.
“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”, she said.
The report concluded that as economies increasingly depend on high-value technology goods, air cargo will remain essential for maintaining the speed and reliability of global supply chains.