Trends in Air Freight Procurement For 2025
In March 2025, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the "Global Air Cargo Outlook", which showed that cross-border e-commerce cargo accounted for 35% of the total air cargo volume, driving the industry's procurement costs up 12% year-on-year. At the same time, multiple factors such as the full implementation of the EU carbon tariff (CBAM), route disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts, and technological breakthroughs in electric freighters are reshaping the underlying logic of air cargo procurement. This article combines the latest industry trends and analyzes the core trends of air cargo procurement in 2025 from six dimensions: digital procurement, sustainable supply chain, flexible contract model, regional hub layout, technology-enabled risk control, and cross-border compliance upgrades.
Content Menu
Application Cases of Blockchain Technology in Freight Documents
Verification of the Actual Effect of AI Demand Prediction
Analysis of Lufthansa Cargo SAF Surcharge Policy
Operational Data of SF Airlines Electric Freighters
Block Bidding System Based on Real-time Supply and Demand
Cost Optimization of Multimodal Transport Agreements
Qingdao Airport "Domestic Continued Mixed Loading" Model Innovation
Efficiency Improvement of Ezhou Huahu Airport Hub-and-Spoke Network
Intelligent Monitoring System for Lithium Battery Transportation
Real-time Warning Model for Geopolitical Risks
Response Plan for EU Carbon Tariffs
Challenges and Opportunities of Digitalization of Southeast Asian Customs
Digital Procurement Platform: Efficiency Revolution from Decentralization to Centralization
Application Cases of Blockchain Technology in Freight Documents
In January 2025, Shenzhen Airport The "One Code for Freight" project was officially launched, using blockchain technology to achieve digital tracking of the entire process of goods. After a cross-border e-commerce company used it, the customs clearance time was shortened from 48 hours to 8 hours, and the document processing cost was reduced by 40%. The system unifies the barcode standards for goods, connects 12 information nodes such as airports, customs, and freight forwarders, and realizes full visualization from collection and transportation to delivery.
Technical details: The blockchain platform adopts the Hyperledger Fabric architecture. Each cargo generates a unique hash value, which is synchronized to the "Single Window" system of the General Administration of Customs in real time, and automatically completes commodity classification and tax rate calculation. Data shows that the query time for abnormal cargo at Shenzhen Airport has been compressed from 2 hours to 10 minutes, and the complaint rate for damaged cargo has dropped by 65%.
Actual verification of AI predicting demand
The "Apollo" intelligent procurement platform launched by DHL uses machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data and real-time market dynamics, and predicts the freight demand in the next 30 days with an accuracy rate of 92%. Through this platform, an electronic product manufacturer increased the frequency of adjusting its procurement plan from once a month to once a day, and increased its inventory turnover rate by 35%.
Algorithm advantage: The platform integrates Google Trends search data, Amazon sales data, and even social media public opinion, and predicts the transportation demand of high-value electronic products through the LSTM neural network model. For example, 45 days before the release of the new iPhone, the system warned in advance that the North American route was tight, helping customers lock in 15% of spare space to avoid the impact of peak season freight fluctuations.
Sustainable supply chain: implementation of SAF and electric freighters
Analysis of Lufthansa Cargo's SAF surcharge policy
Starting from January 2025, Lufthansa Cargo will include the cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the air cargo surcharge (ASC), with an additional charge of 0.15 euros per kilogram of cargo. The policy is designed to cope with the EU's mandatory 2% SAF blending ratio, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 tons per year. At present, Lufthansa has cooperated with Neste to establish a SAF supply chain covering major routes from Europe to North America.
Cost structure: The production cost of SAF is 2.5 times that of traditional fuel, but through the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) carbon credits deduction, the actual cost premium can be reduced to 1.8 times. A medical device company calculated that after using the SAF route, the proportion of emissions in the transportation link in its product carbon footprint report dropped from 30% to 12%, helping to pass the EU "Green Product Certification".
Operational data of SF Airlines' electric freighter
The Eviation Alice electric freighter deployed by SF Airlines on the Shenzhen-Hangzhou route has a single flight time of 2 hours, a cargo capacity of 2.3 tons, and carbon emissions are 80% lower than traditional freighters. Although the procurement cost is 30% higher, the operating cost per kilometer is reduced by 45%, and it has received green subsidies from local governments. The model is planned to expand to Southeast Asian routes in 2025.
Technological breakthrough: The Alice freighter adopts a distributed electric propulsion system, equipped with a 900kWh lithium battery pack, and has a range of 800 kilometers. The battery management system (BMS) developed by SF Airlines and CATL controls the charging time to 1.5 hours to meet the high-frequency transportation needs of feeder logistics. Data shows that the battery cycle life of this model reaches 4,000 times, an increase of 33% over the initial design.
Flexible contract model: dynamic pricing and risk hedging tools
Space bidding system based on real-time supply and demand
The "CargoBid" platform launched by Cathay Pacific allows shippers to participate in space bidding 72 hours before the flight takes off. A clothing company reduced its peak season transportation costs by 18% through this platform, while obtaining flexible refund and change services. Data shows that after the platform went online, Cathay Pacific's spot space utilization rate increased from 65% to 82%.
Bidding mechanism: The system adopts the Dutch auction model. The airline sets the base price and available space, and the shipper submits the quotation and demand, and finally the transaction is completed with the lowest successful quotation. A beauty brand obtained a 20% discount on shipping space through CargoBid before "Black Friday" and locked in priority loading rights on the trans-Pacific route.
Cost optimization of multimodal transport agreements
FedEx and Maersk have jointly launched a "sea-air transport" package, promising to deliver from Shanghai Port to Los Angeles within 48 hours. After a certain auto parts company adopted it, the total logistics cost dropped by 22%, and the risk exposure was reduced through unified insurance terms. This model has covered 10 major routes from Asia to North America.
Operation process: The goods are shipped from Shanghai Port to Long Beach Port in California by Maersk container, and then airlifted to Los Angeles by FedEx cargo plane, which is seamlessly connected through "port-aircraft-port" and eliminates the secondary sorting link. A precision instrument manufacturer calculated that this model reduced the damage rate of goods from 0.8% to 0.2%, and at the same time reduced carbon emissions by 15% by taking advantage of the low energy consumption characteristics of sea transportation.
Regional hub layout: near-shore procurement and strategic node reconstruction
Qingdao Airport "domestic continuation mixed load" model innovation
In March 2025, Qingdao Jiaodong Airport opened the "Qingdao-Huaian-Osaka" all-cargo aircraft domestic continuation mixed load route, and the goods were reloaded in Huai'an and flew directly to Japan. After a cross-border e-commerce company used it, the logistics time efficiency increased by 20% and the transportation cost decreased by 15%. This model reduces the transit time from 4 hours to 1 hour through "advance declaration + apron direct loading".
Policy support: Qingdao Airport was approved for the "cross-border e-commerce special area export" pilot, allowing goods to be operated "domestic and outside the customs" in Huai'an and enjoy the export tax rebate policy. A toy manufacturer used this model to shorten the supply cycle of plush toys in the Japanese market from 10 days to 5 days, and the inventory turnover rate increased by 40%.
Ezhou Huahu Airport hub-and-spoke network efficiency improvement
Ezhou Huahu Airport adopts a "hub-and-spoke" operation mode, sorting goods from surrounding cities and flying directly to Europe and the United States via large cargo planes. A certain electronic product manufacturer's actual measurement shows that transportation costs have dropped by 18%, and the actual load rate of cargo planes has increased from 60% to 75%. The hub plans to open an all-cargo route to Europe in 2025, covering 90% of cross-border e-commerce needs.
Sorting technology: The airport is equipped with 300 AGV robots and AI sorting systems, with an hourly processing capacity of 150,000 pieces and a sorting accuracy rate of 99.99%. An e-commerce platform uses the night sorting advantage of Huahu Airport to achieve the ultra-fast logistics of "collecting goods in the Yangtze River Delta - taking off in the early morning - reaching Europe the next day", saving 12 hours compared with the traditional model.
Technology empowers risk control: Risk warning system of IoT and AI
Intelligent monitoring system for lithium battery transportation
The "DG AutoCheck" tool launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) uses IoT sensors to monitor the temperature and charge status of lithium batteries in real time. After a logistics company used it, the accident rate of dangerous goods transportation dropped from 0.3% to 0.05%, and 30% of labor costs were saved by automatically generating compliance reports. The system has been certified by the FDA and the EU CE.
Hardware configuration: Each lithium battery package is equipped with an NXP semiconductor MC33771 sensor, which uploads data to the cloud platform in real time. When the temperature exceeds 60°C or the voltage fluctuates by more than 15%, it automatically triggers an audible and visual alarm and notifies the captain. A power tool manufacturer used this system to avoid 3 lithium battery spontaneous combustion accidents in Q1 2025, saving more than US$500,000 in losses.
Real-time early warning model for geopolitical risks
The "Risk Radar" system developed by Flexport integrates more than 200 data sources around the world to provide real-time early warning of risks such as geopolitical conflicts and policy changes. Through this system, a medical device company adjusted its transportation route 48 hours before the situation in the Red Sea escalated, avoiding a loss of $2 million.
Data source: The system accesses Reuters news, International Crisis Group (ICG) reports, and even satellite image data, and uses natural language processing (NLP) technology to analyze risk events. For example, when it is detected that the probability of a strike by Iranian port workers exceeds 70%, it automatically recommends alternative options to bypass Dubai or Djibouti, while calculating the increase in freight rates and time changes.
Cross- border compliance upgrade: procurement strategies under global policy differences
Response plan for EU carbon tariffs
For EU CBAM, DHL launched a "carbon footprint calculator" to help customers quantify carbon emissions in the transportation process. A chemical company reduced carbon tariff costs by 40% by optimizing packaging and selecting SAF routes, and obtained the EU "green certification" label.
Calculation model: The calculator is based on IATA's Carbon Emissions Calculator, combined with the aircraft model, cargo capacity, fuel efficiency and other parameters of the specific flight, to accurately calculate the carbon emissions of each piece of cargo. A fast fashion brand used this tool to reduce the carbon emissions of cotton products from 0.5kg/piece to 0.3kg/piece, meeting the EU's "Product Environmental Footprint" (PEF) certification requirements.
Challenges and opportunities of digital customs in Southeast Asia
Singapore Changi Airport launched the "Smart Customs Clearance" system, which enables 80% of goods to be released automatically. After a 3C accessories company used it, the customs clearance time was shortened from 24 hours to 4 hours, but an additional 15% IT cost was required for data docking.
Technical barriers: The customs systems of Southeast Asian countries are incompatible with each other. For example, the data format differences between Thailand's NCTS system and Indonesia's SIT customs clearance system are as high as 37. A supply chain service provider has developed the "ASEAN Customs Pass" middleware to uniformly convert data standards of various countries, helping small and medium-sized enterprises reduce 60% of docking costs. It has currently connected to the customs systems of 7 countries.
Summary
In 2025, the core logic of air cargo procurement has shifted from "cost priority" to "ecological reconstruction". Enterprises need to build a six-dimensional capability matrix of "digital procurement platform + sustainable supply chain + flexible contract model + regional hub layout + technical risk control system + cross-border compliance capabilities". For example, a large e-commerce platform has reduced end-to-end logistics costs by 25% by integrating Shenzhen Airport's blockchain tracking, Lufthansa Cargo's SAF routes, and Qingdao Airport's mixed loading mode, while meeting EU carbon tariff requirements. In the future, companies that can quickly respond to policy changes and deeply integrate technical resources will take the lead in the industry reshuffle.
