I. Current situation analysis
With the rapid development of global cross-border e-commerce, the demand for international air transport has shown explosive growth, but the supply of capacity is difficult to match in the short term, resulting in drastic fluctuations in freight rates, tight space, and extended delivery cycles. This contradiction is particularly prominent after the epidemic and has become one of the bottlenecks restricting the development of cross-border e-commerce.
- Main response strategies
(I) Diversified transportation solutions
Sea-air transport: non-urgent goods can be transported by sea to the hub port and then transferred to air transport to reduce the cost pressure of pure air transport
China-Europe Express + Air Transport: transport goods to European hub cities by China-Europe Railway and then transfer to air transport to the final destination
Regional warehousing + last-mile air transport: establish forward warehouses in the target market, and only use air transport for the last leg
(II) Optimization of transportation resources
Charter cooperation: large e-commerce platforms can sign long-term charter agreements with airlines to lock in transportation capacity
Passenger-to-cargo flights: continue to use the belly cargo of some passenger flights to transport cargo and improve overall capacity utilization
Secondary airport utilization: develop the cargo transportation potential of non-hub airports and alleviate the congestion pressure of major airports
(III) Supply chain collaborative innovation
Dynamic routing system: establish an intelligent multimodal transport path planning system to adjust the transportation plan according to real-time transportation capacity
Joint distribution model: multiple e-commerce platforms jointly rent all-cargo aircraft to share costs and increase loading rate
Off-season preparation Cargo strategy: Use the off-season to prepare goods in overseas warehouses in advance to balance the capacity demand throughout the year
(IV) Technology empowerment
Cargo drones: Pilot large cargo drones in airworthy areas to supplement short-distance capacity
Digital cargo platform: Build a transparent global air transport trading platform to improve capacity matching efficiency
AI prediction system: Use artificial intelligence to predict demand fluctuations on various routes and allocate capacity resources in advance
III. Long-term development suggestions
Invest in air cargo infrastructure: Encourage the construction of specialized cargo airports and air logistics hubs
Cultivate all-cargo aircraft operation capabilities: Support logistics companies to establish their own all-cargo aircraft fleet
Improve the international air cargo network: Promote the “Belt and Road” countries along the air cargo cooperation agreement
Green aviation technology application: Develop high-load, low-energy consumption cargo aircraft to reduce unit transportation costs
IV. Conclusion
The shortage of international air transport capacity is a phased challenge in the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, which needs to be addressed through a combination of short-term strategy adjustments and long-term system construction. Enterprises should establish a flexible supply chain system, and the government needs to improve the air cargo infrastructure and policy environment to achieve the coordinated and sustainable development of cross-border e-commerce and air cargo through multi-party collaboration.