Ecommerce freight is expanding Latin America’s air cargo business, but the additional volume has not corrected the region’s longstanding gap between imports and exports. LATAM Cargo indicates that gains from online retail are partly counterbalanced by weakness in industrial cargo.
The change affects more than the mix of goods aboard aircraft. It is influencing how airlines allocate freighters, where they establish gateways and how quickly they can respond when digital platforms redirect demand.
Online retail changes the southbound cargo mix
At TIACA’s Air Cargo Forum in Miami, LATAM Cargo group CEO Andrés Bianchi said rising ecommerce volumes did not fully explain southbound traffic because several traditional industrial categories were contracting. Automotive components and equipment used by mining operations were among those experiencing reductions.
Cargo diversification can protect airlines from excessive dependence on one industry. Yet online retail introduces a distinct exposure: its volumes are more sensitive to regulatory changes than those of many conventional commodities.
Avianca Cargo has experienced particularly strong ecommerce growth on its Miami–Colombia service. Its wider online-retail business reaches Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Central America and Venezuela following the restoration of Miami–Venezuela freighter operations.
The carrier’s network provides flexibility beyond that one corridor. Approximately 90% of South American cargo arriving at Miami from Avianca originates at five major points. Once in Miami, the airline can distribute shipments across more than 30 destinations, combining online retail goods with automotive components, semiconductors, handsets and other technology items.
Capacity follows demand, but redirection has a cost
Digital platforms can open markets faster than airlines can adjust aircraft. Martin Drew, an Atlas Air executive, said online sellers shifted shipments after the United States eliminated de minimis treatment for goods from China.
Peru provided a notable example. Following the policy change, one major platform requested more space from China to Lima. Atlas Air now runs three weekly services between those points, building capacity around demand that had appeared rapidly.
That solution created a subsequent constraint. Once the aircraft were assigned to Latin America, insufficient remained for a recovery in US traffic. A carrier can therefore fill a newly created corridor while weakening its position on a familiar route.
For regional airlines, the challenge involves more than pairing available freight with inbound loads. Planners must also consider how abruptly digital demand can move, whether aircraft can be switched without stranding a service and which gateways offer the strongest fallback options.
Why this matters to shippers and freight buyers
Ecommerce creates opportunities for platforms seeking alternative markets and for airlines able to reposition freighters. It can also provide shippers with new ways to reach Latin America.
Those benefits are not evenly distributed. Carriers operating flexible multi-gateway networks can redirect capacity more easily. Shippers dependent on one allocation or connection face greater disruption risk when platform demand changes.
Exporters face separate pressure. Bianchi said currency gains and higher minimum wages increased the dollar-denominated labour expense of Colombian exporters by 40% to 45% during the previous year. His view was that discussions about additional pricing become more delicate when customers are already operating under financial strain.
Pharmaceuticals offer another source of potential growth, according to Bianchi, but they too have a defined commercial lifespan. Shipment volumes may recede after patents lapse and domestic manufacturers begin supplying generic alternatives.
The lesson for airlines is not to identify one commodity and build the network around it. Flexibility allows freight to be redirected when the commercial position of a product changes.
Our analysis: demand is more movable than capacity
Online platforms can introduce a destination with little warning. Aircraft require suitable freighter capacity, crews, handling arrangements and onward connections, making a comparable market entry much harder.
That difference is increasing the value of interconnected networks. Avianca’s principal European gateway in Madrid gives Chinese online-retail cargo another route into South America through the airline’s passenger services. Its Miami operation likewise spreads South American freight across more than 30 markets.
The associated risk is concentration. An airline may carry a varied assortment across several nations but still rely on a limited number of gateways, source points or aircraft assignments. A healthy balance across global capacity likewise says little about the availability of space on a particular lane.
Freight buyers should ask not simply whether Latin America has sufficient cargo in aggregate. The more useful question is whether their own shipments have a firm position within the aircraft, connection and schedule structure needed for delivery.
Decision checklist for shippers
Before accepting a quote or launching a new service, ask:
- Which freighter and flight will carry the cargo?
- Is that space contractually protected from reassignment?
- Which gateway links the origin to the final destination?
- Could capacity be moved elsewhere before delivery?
- What alternative flight or routing is available?
- Who must be contacted if the original service changes?
- Does the rate reflect the exporter’s wider cost pressures?
These checks test the operating structure behind a market headline. Regional freight totals cannot guarantee that space will remain available on the shipment a buyer actually needs.
What to watch next
The destination of Chinese ecommerce shipments following the US de minimis change will be important. Airlines’ freighter positioning, the resilience of industrial exports and available gateway capacity will also determine how quickly the regional network adjusts.
Ecommerce should therefore be viewed as a fluid network opportunity rather than a dependable source of fixed growth. Carriers and shippers that prepare for sudden changes will be better positioned than those whose plans depend on today’s commodity mix remaining unchanged.
Key takeaways
- Ecommerce is reshaping Latin America’s cargo mix without removing its directional imbalance.
- Moving freighter capacity toward a new lane can expose another market when demand returns.
- Shippers should examine aircraft assignments, gateway dependencies and contingency routes rather than relying on regional volume totals.
Frequently asked questions
Why has ecommerce not resolved Latin America’s air cargo imbalance?
LATAM Cargo says online-retail gains have been partly countered by falling shipments in industrial categories such as automotive components and mining equipment.
Which route is driving Avianca Cargo’s ecommerce growth?
Its southbound Miami–Colombia operation is the principal driver, while the airline also serves other Latin American destinations with online-retail freight.
What prompted the expansion of China–Lima service?
Online platforms sought greater capacity or redirected shipments elsewhere after the United States ended de minimis treatment for Chinese goods.
What should shippers verify before accepting a freight quote?
They should confirm the aircraft assignment, secured space, gateway connection, contingency routing and possibility of service reassignment.