Asian airlines are the latest beneficiaries of growing demand for AI servers and computer chips, creating a windfall that’s helping mitigate the surge in jet fuel costs.
The latest quarterly financial data from Korean Air Lines Co., as well as Taiwan’s China Airlines Ltd. and EVA Airways Corp. show cargo revenue hit their highest levels in more than three years.
The carriers credited shipments of semiconductors and other equipment for driving a new wave of cargo demand. The growth for Korean and China Airlines marked the biggest quarterly rise in freight income since 2022 when the Covid pandemic drove up delivery prices and pushed cargo revenues to records.
“Cargo has been the key bright spot for Asia Pacific airlines,” Nathan Gee, head of Asia-Pacific transportation research at Bank of America Corp., said in an interview. “We are bullish on the outlook for air cargo fundamentals into 2027,” he added, pointing to the recent birth of an AI supercycle, healthy e-commerce flows and tighter supply “supporting strong pricing power.”
Cargo rates on major air freight lanes from key locations, including Hong Kong, Seoul and Taiwan to the US, in recent weeks have risen to the highest levels since 2022, official cargo pricing TAC Index data shows.
The surge in demand comes on the back of a worldwide race to build out artificial intelligence data farms and other infrastructure. Other winners from the AI frenzy include manufacturers of construction equipment, commodity-grade batteries, power generators and turbines.
