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International Logistics and Supply Chains
The growing demand for artificial intelligence components is transforming air cargo routes from Asia, displacing e-commerce as the sector's main driver. This structural shift is generating a new dynamic of prices and capacities that is impacting global supply chains, including those in Spain.
The global race for dominance in artificial intelligence has caused a tectonic shift in international supply chains, with air cargo in Asia as the epicenter. The transport of high-value components, such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and specialized servers, has become the new engine of growth for the sector, a role that until recently was undisputedly held by e-commerce. This readjustment of priorities is reconfiguring routes, straining available capacity, and generating a direct impact on logistics costs worldwide.
Sources from the logistics sector in Hong Kong, Taipéi y Seúl They confirm that the demand for transporting semiconductors and AI equipment, mostly produced in Taiwán y Corea del SurIt has skyrocketed since the end of 2025. Unlike e-commerce consumer goods, characterized by high volume and relatively low unit value, AI components are compact, extremely high value, and highly sensitive to delivery time. This makes them ideal cargo for air freight, where speed justifies cost.
From package to processor: a paradigm shift
The previous paradigm, dominated by e-commerce giants, relied on optimizing large volumes to meet seasonal demand peaks. The new AI-driven model responds to a constant and strategic need for data centers located primarily in Norteamérica y Europa. Companies like Nvidiawhose chips are manufactured by the Taiwanese company TSMCor the large cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services y Microsoft AzureThey spare no expense in transportation to ensure a fast and secure supply, in a context of intense geopolitical and technological competition exacerbated by the policies of the administration of Donald Trump en Estados Unidos.
This reallocation of capacity has a direct knock-on effect on other industries, including Spanish companies. The Spanish export sector, which uses air transport for high-value-added products such as luxury fashion, pharmaceuticals, and high-end perishable foods, now faces competition for cargo space that did not previously exist. Air carriers are prioritizing AI cargo due to its higher profitability per kilogram, leading to higher fares and reduced availability for other goods on key routes connecting [the country/region]. Asia with Europa.
Repercussions for logistics and Spanish industry
To EspañaThe impact is twofold. On the one hand, companies importing electronic components and capital goods from Asia They face higher costs and potential delays, which affect their margins and production capacity. On the other hand, exporters see their competitiveness reduced in international markets. Spanish goods, although valuable, can hardly compete with the margin offered by a single pallet of GPUs, which can be worth several million dollars.
Spain's main cargo airports, such as Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat o ZaragozaAlthough they are not the primary final destinations for these components, they also experience strain on the global network. The concentration of cargo flights in major European hubs that serve as gateways for technology, such as Frankfurt o Ámsterdam, you can leave the southern airports of Europa with less connectivity and frequencies. The analysts consulted by Empresa Exterior They point out that this phenomenon is not temporary, but rather represents "a structural reconfiguration of global value chains." Spanish companies, they conclude, must prepare for a scenario of permanently higher air freight costs and seek greater diversification in their logistics strategies to mitigate risks.
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