Major enterprises are accelerating their efforts to seize the aviation logistics market.
Major enterprises are accelerating their efforts to seize the aviation logistics market.
Entering 2026, the overall situation of China's air cargo transportation continued to improve, with the business scale expanding continuously. Data from the Civil Aviation Administration shows that from January to November, the industry completed a cargo and mail transportation volume of 92.43 million tons, an increase of 13.6% year-on-year. Among them, the cargo and mail transportation volume on international routes increased by 21.8% year-on-year, becoming the main driving force for the relatively rapid growth of the air cargo market.
Yuan Shuai, the deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Zhongguancun Internet of Things Industry Alliance, told reporters that in recent years, the consumption structure of residents has continuously improved, driving the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce and fresh food cold chain. The increase in market demand for air transportation capacity has also driven the growth of the international freight market.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs this month shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China's exports and imports reached 24.46 trillion yuan and 16.75 trillion yuan, respectively, an increase of 6.2% and 0.2% year-on-year. In addition, during the peak season for winter sports in the Northern Hemisphere, the growth rate of exports to Central and Eastern Europe of skating shoes and exports to the North American market of skiing suits and other winter sports products have both exceeded double digits since the second half of the year.
Industry insiders believe that the continuous growth of air logistics demand is also closely related to the changes in the maritime transportation market. A number of manufacturers with high requirements for transportation flexibility and timeliness have changed their export transportation methods, switching to air transportation or the China-Europe Railway Express mode to cope with the problem of rising maritime freight prices.
The rapid growth of air cargo volume is attributed to the continuous densification of the cargo flight network. Data from the Civil Aviation Administration shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China's cargo flights continued to increase, with a cumulative number of flights connecting 70 countries and 170 cities, an increase of 8 countries and 27 cities compared to last year, and the average weekly flight volume increased by 15.7% compared to last year. The rapid development of new consumption models such as live streaming and instant retail has provided an important source for the stable demand of air cargo.
Industry insiders believe that in the context of rapid growth in the international market, having a self-owned air transportation network will be the key to future industry competition. Major domestic express companies have recently significantly increased their efforts to explore the international air logistics market.
According to the news released by Shenzhen Kapoklog Logistics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Kapoklog Logistics recently signed a cooperation agreement with the core logistics platform Asyad Group of the Emirati government at the Asyad headquarters in Oman. The two sides will conduct closer cooperation in areas such as cross-border transportation, supply chain collaboration, regional delivery networks, and logistics innovation. This signing marks a comprehensive upgrade in the cooperation between the two parties in cross-border e-commerce logistics and comprehensive transportation, and also indicates that the deep collaboration between the two major logistics enterprises between China and Oman has entered a new stage.
China International Cargo Airline Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Cargo Air") recently stated in an institutional research that in 2025, the company will actively optimize its transportation capacity structure and has successively opened new cargo flight routes from Chengdu to Dubai, from Chengdu to Frankfurt, from Chengdu to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, from Shanghai to Hanoi in Vietnam, etc. In the second half of the year, it has also successively launched cargo flight routes from Chengdu to Glasgow in the UK and from Chengdu to Shanghai Pudong, further enhancing supply chain resilience. In the long term, international air freight will serve the innovation and growth of China's manufacturing industry, the upgrading of industries and consumption, and continuously expand the layout of the flight network, strengthen communication and collaboration with upstream and downstream partners, and help further improve the scale and quality of China's logistics imports and exports.
The Chinese air logistics industry is in a stage of rapid development. Enterprises should deepen the layout of the flight network, especially accelerate the development process of international flight routes; increase investment in logistics technological innovation, improve operational efficiency and service quality through the application of Internet of Things and big data technologies, to strengthen competitiveness and seize development opportunities in the industry.
