Source: The Loadstar  
Date: 2nd January 2025

Ecommerce will remain the key driver of air cargo growth this year, as in 2024.

In a STAT Times Cargo Masterminds podcast at the end of December, the SVP at Delta Air Lines and president of Delta Cargo underlined that despite “the economic and political challenges around the world, the market was robust and very resilient, and will be continuing in 2025”.

Delta added that ecommerce was having “a huge impact on demand for air cargo capacity”, with no let-up expected”.

In October, Delta reported revenue for Q3 24 of $196m, on “international volume strength”, an increase of 27% on Q3 23, and Delta noted that ecommerce was taking up a significant part of the Atlanta-based carrier’s cargo capacity.

Asked whether it was a challenge to optimise ecommerce cargo, given that it is generally perceived as being a low-yield vertical, Delta replied: “Air cargo pricing and yields are always a topic of discussion, but seeing the volume and consistency of ecommerce traffic, I think you have to be very careful in making statements like low-yield, especially in a market where demand is strong and capacity tight.

Ecommerce has become such a huge component of the air cargo market that we can’t think that or say that it is always low-yield and doesn’t make [commercial] sense. You do it or you don’t. It all depends on your business model.

Returning to the outlook for 2025, despite the tense geo-political environment, Delta sounded upbeat. In recent years, we have had to contend with the impact of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, disruption to ocean shipping in the Red Sea, and conflict in the Middle East. The new year will see the inauguration of a new president in the US and there is speculation of a tougher stance on trade tariffs, but we don’t know exactly what will happen.

As an industry, we are used to change, the challenge is to manage it properly.

And Delta again pointed to ecommerce as the growth driver, keeping demand for capacity strong.