Chinese air cargo exports are rapidly shifting from the United States to Europe. New U.S. import tariffs on e-commerce shipments worth under $800 have led to a drop of over 40,000 tons of air cargo heading to the U.S. At the same time, exports to Europe increased some 13% in the past two weeks, representing more than 50,000 tons of additional air cargo.

On an annual basis, this trend has been apparent for some time. Since the announcement of the U.S. tariffs early this year, exports to the European Union increased by nearly 20%, accounting for over 940,000 tons of additional cargo. Airports such as Liege Airport are particularly benefiting from this shift, with transshipment growth of nearly 30% in August.

According to air cargo analyst WorldACD, the increase is broad-based: Hong Kong is also seeing more shipments leave for Europe. Large e-commerce companies such as Temu, Shein and Alibaba are emphatically shifting their focus to European markets to avoid the higher costs towards the U.S. This development presents opportunities for the European logistics sector and air cargo companies, which can prepare for continued higher volumes from China.