This panel discusses the transformation in the global retail industry due to the rise of e-commerce companies and its impact on cross-border cargo movement by air. Industry estimates indicate that in 2020, goods and services purchased online were valued at $4.2 trillion, accounting for 17.8% of all global retail sales. In 2025, e-commerce companies are expected to contribute 24.5% of all global retail sales. Look at how Chinese e-commerce companies have seized the opportunity, exporting more domestic goods to the rest of the world. The fast-growing cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) sector is generating significant air freight demand, with combined volumes from major e-commerce retailers exceeding 10,000 tonnes daily.

Cross-border e-commerce cargo has been filling up transcontinental freighters in 2024, and the trend continues even as air cargo supply is severely constrained by delays in wide-body main-deck production freighters and passenger-to-freighter conversion programs. Will the e-commerce boom continue as US-led tariffs begin to kick in and impact cross-border cargo movement on transpacific routes? What are the biggest headwinds and tailwinds for the air cargo industry and for main deck operators? How important are freighters for global trade going forward? How will the industry manage the rapidly evolving and sometimes highly unpredictable geopolitics that almost determines the flow of global trade?