Wuxi Wanhang introduces the characteristics and development trends of the international air freight logistics industry

2025-12-31 10:38:11

Wuxi Wanhang introduces the characteristics and development trends of the international Air freight logistics industry

The international air freight logistics industry is entering an important period of development opportunities. Looking ahead to the future, the international air logistics industry of China Airlines has the following characteristics and development trends:

1. The fundamentals of the aviation international air logistics market are stable and well oriented.

Affected by the epidemic, the world economy is under great downward pressure and there are many uncertain factors. Under the pressure of multiple factors, the trade relationship between China and the United States, after experiencing fluctuations in China's imports and exports in the first quarter, began to stabilize in the second quarter. By June, both imports and exports achieved positive growth, with a 5.1% increase in imports and exports, a 4.3% increase in exports, and a 6.2% increase in imports. Air freight is a barometer of economic development. According to the main production indicators released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the decline in freight volume during the same period has gradually narrowed.

2021 is the starting year of the 14th Five Year Plan. In the context of building a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other, China's economy and foreign trade will continue to maintain sustained and healthy development in the process of optimizing foreign trade structure, adapting and adjusting the global trade chain.

2. The new formats and models represented by cross-border e-commerce have provided growth momentum for air logistics through international air freight, while also putting forward new requirements.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has stimulated the consumption of the "home economy", increased the popularity of online shopping, and further promoted the prosperity of cross-border e-commerce. In the first three quarters of this year, imports and exports through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform increased by 52.8% against the trend, reaching 187.39 billion yuan. According to estimates, the scale of China's cross-border e-commerce market is expected to reach 280 billion yuan in 2020. The rapid growth of the cross-border e-commerce market and the continuous increase in supporting policies have provided stable market expectations for air logistics.

3. From air freight to air logistics, and then to modern logistics service providers, it has become a consensus in the industry.

With the rapid development of modern logistics markets such as e-commerce, express delivery, and cold chain, the supply structure of air transportation has undergone significant changes. Aviation is no longer just seen as a mode of transportation, but is integrated into the modern logistics service system. Air freight enterprises need to fully leverage the excellent comparative advantages of air transportation, innovate service systems and business models, integrate upstream and downstream resources, and transform from simple carriers to comprehensive logistics service providers.

At the same time, as important participants in air logistics, freight forwarding companies are also facing the transformation towards comprehensive service providers. Proxy enterprises have inherent advantages such as high market sensitivity, emphasis on customer experience, flexible service mechanisms, and the ability to quickly accept new technologies and concepts. The digitalization process of enterprises has already begun.

4. While international air transportation maintains a stable position, new forces continue to emerge.

International air freight

In 2019, the number of airports with an annual cargo throughput exceeding 10000 tons will reach 59, accounting for 98.4% of the total, while the remaining 180 airports will only account for 1.6% of the total.

In the short term, new forces represented by express delivery and e-commerce enterprises are entering the field of air logistics. Traditional express delivery companies have gone from establishing fleets to building professional airlines, and then to establishing professional cargo airports.  

In addition, it is understood that several e-commerce logistics companies have already participated in the mixed ownership reform. The rise of new forces will not only stimulate the potential momentum of traditional air cargo enterprises, but also accelerate the process of individual air cargo entities extending upstream and downstream, and the trend of full industry chain will become increasingly evident.

5. Local governments play an important role in promoting regional economic development through financial subsidies and industrial support policies, leveraging aviation logistics.

In recent years, the construction of air cargo hubs has become an important lever for local governments to boost the economy, promote industrial structure upgrading, and enhance regional overall competitiveness. At present, the subsidy direction of local governments mainly focuses on all cargo flights, cargo volume, cargo bases, etc., which has a strong driving effect on the increase of cargo volume in local airports, and has played a role in regulating industrial structure and guiding industrial development through fiscal policies.

However, the development of air cargo hubs requires the support and coordination of various factors such as convenient ground transportation, a good customs clearance environment, excellent ground services, a complete route network, a stable aviation industry, and land resources that can be used for long-term planning. Therefore, studying the conversion relationship between effective subsidy policies and long-term development is a key issue in leveraging the role of air logistics in serving local economies during the 14th Five Year Plan period.

Wuxi Wanhang International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Wuxi Wanhang") is a national first level freight forwarding enterprise approved by the Ministry of Commerce. The company has NVOCC qualifications and focuses on engaging in national freight forwarding International shipping, international shipping International air freight, national International multimodal transport, booking, customs declaration and inspection, container consolidation and unpacking, warehousing and logistics, insurance agency, road transportation and other logistics services.