Guangzhou Hosts IATA North Asia Cargo Day, Advancing Digital and Resilient Air Freight Development

The 2026 IATA North Asia Cargo Day and Guangzhou International Air Cargo Hub High-quality Development Conference was held in Guangzhou on 2 June. Centred on the theme “China’s Hub Connecting the Globe”, the event gathered hundreds of industry representatives from across the world to explore practical approaches for strengthening industrial resilience, enhancing digital leadership and upgrading safety and trust frameworks amid the widespread implementation of global aviation standards.

The global air freight sector is entering a new phase featuring parallel standard implementation and capacity building. Industry shifts driven by evolving international trade patterns, supply chain restructuring and booming cross-border e-commerce demand require continuous improvements in operational efficiency, cost control and service quality. Further progress in resilience building, regulatory compliance and multi-stakeholder collaboration will unlock greater industrial value across North Asia’s air cargo market. IATA is supporting the long-term capacity development of air freight in China and the wider North Asia region through global standard formulation, digital capability upgrading and structured safety and trust mechanisms.

Air cargo maintains an irreplaceable role in mitigating supply chain disruptions, facilitating humanitarian relief and sustaining daily commodity trade flows. Against increasingly complex operational environments, the industry is embracing digital transformation, unified global standards, strengthened supply chain security and cross-industry collaboration to boost overall resilience and respond agilely to market changes, underpinning steady global trade and economic expansion.

IATA is driving industry-wide digitalisation through two core frameworks. The ONE Record standard, a flagship digital initiative, has moved from pilot trials to large-scale industrial deployment. Airlines accounting for 72 per cent of global air cargo volumes are rolling out ONE Record systems in phases. Within North Asia, nine airlines, six IT service providers and more than ten freight forwarders and shippers have completed validations across 12 airports and ports.

The Digital Leadership Charter serves as another key driver for structured digital upgrading, encouraging all supply chain participants to pursue digital transformation in a secure, sustainable and standardised manner. A total of 48 global enterprises have joined the initiative since 2024, including 17 organisations based in IATA North Asia territories.

Global air cargo demand continues to expand, fuelled by robust cross-border e-commerce growth. Latest IATA data shows global air cargo demand rose 3.4 per cent year on year in 2025, hitting an all-time high. The Asia-Pacific region leads global growth with an 8.4 per cent year-on-year increase in cargo volume. Strong regional demand is increasingly converging on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The seven-airport cluster in the region recorded a combined cargo throughput of 9.72 million tonnes in 2025, securing its position among the world’s top-tier aviation hub clusters and supporting Guangdong’s manufacturing and cross-border trade expansion.

Under Guangdong’s 15th Five-Year Plan, new foreign trade momentum will be fostered to further consolidate the strategic positioning of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the Greater Bay Area as core international air cargo hubs. Amid integrated growth of cross-border e-commerce, export-oriented manufacturing and restructured global supply chains, regional air freight operations are evolving beyond pure volume handling. The sector is upgrading capabilities to support high-frequency fulfilment, rapid inventory turnover, cross-stakeholder coordination and stable delivery performance. IATA will continue to empower the Greater Bay Area’s air cargo network via unified global standards, industrial cooperation and capacity building, promoting full-chain collaborative stability instead of isolated efficiency improvements.

New strategic cooperation has been finalised during the conference. FedEx signed a memorandum of understanding with China Southern Air Logistics to explore in-depth collaboration in international flight connection, transport route optimisation, fleet resource sharing, ground operation integration and digital system iteration. The partnership aims to build an innovative cooperation model for global air logistics.

Complementary resource integration between FedEx’s global aviation network and China Southern Air Logistics’ mature domestic and international operational experience will enhance route connectivity and overall operational efficiency. The joint efforts will build a smarter, more agile and resilient air logistics ecosystem, catering to surging cross-border logistics demands from Chinese enterprises and injecting fresh impetus into global supply chain stability.

Focusing on cabin space allocation, route layout, fleet optimisation, ground operation standardisation and digital upgrading, both parties will leverage respective strengths to strengthen global supply chain stability and operational efficiency, further consolidating the strategic status of Guangzhou as a core international aviation hub.