Maersk's Europe Market Update of 7 October 2026 identified semiconductors, servers and data-centre equipment as a growing source of air-cargo demand, keeping capacity tight on key routes, including Asia to Europe.
That matters beyond the technology sector. A European manufacturer needing spare parts, or an importer bringing forward seasonal stock, may be looking for space on those same routes. AI investment may feel far removed from an ordinary purchasing decision, but shared freight capacity is where the connection becomes concrete.
For purchasing teams it adds another consideration to the familiar choice between sea and air: how much of an order actually needs the faster journey? A small first delivery can sometimes cover production or initial sales while the balance travels by sea. The commercial comparison then becomes the cost of flying that smaller quantity against the value of having it available earlier.
The details matter. Before pricing a split, we would check:
- which items are needed early, and how many of them, to cover production or initial sales;
- whether those items depend on components travelling in the main shipment. If they do, separating them achieves little;
- whether they can be used or sold independently. If they can, there may be a worthwhile option;
- what it costs to fly the smaller quantity, compared with the value of having it earlier;
- whether quantities and dispatch dates can still be coordinated with the factory. We look at the split while production and delivery are being planned, because that is when it can still be arranged.
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