From Tokyo to Colombo, airlines across Asia are going live on WebCargo by Freightos – fueling a digital transformation that’s less about hype and more about horsepower – and giving forwarders new tools, lanes, and leverage in the process.
The Real Center of Gravity in Air Cargo Is Shifting East
For decades, Asia has been the beating heart of global trade. But in 2025, it’s more than a manufacturing powerhouse – it’s where the future of digital freight is being built.
In just the last twelve months, nine new Asian airlines have joined WebCargo – from Japan to Sri Lanka – bringing the platform’s regional total to over fifteen carriers, including:
That’s not just a roster – it’s a revolution. Together, these launches connect thousands of forwarders to real-time rates, instant eBookings, and new multimodal options across Asia’s densest and most dynamic trade lanes.
As Joyce Tai, Freightos’ EVP of Worldwide Partnerships, put it:
Digital transformation in freight isn’t about hype – it’s about making it real. And nowhere is that clearer than in Asia, where carriers and forwarders are scaling smarter, faster, and with intent.
From Megahubs to Mega Moves
If transshipment hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Incheon taught us anything, it’s that speed comes from orchestration, not infrastructure.
Now, that same digital orchestration is expanding from airports to entire networks – and forwarders are the ones benefiting from the speed.
- Singapore Airlines Cargo brought its seven Boeing 747 freighters and 190+ passenger aircraft online, offering real-time booking across 120 destinations.
- China Airlines Cargo digitized 192 destinations across 29 countries, unlocking instant access for forwarders across North America, Europe, and Asia.
- HNA Cargo added over 2,000 routes and 300 cities, making 65% of global air cargo capacity now bookable through WebCargo.
- YTO Cargo Airlines, one of China’s top five freighter carriers, went fully digital – cutting its quote-to-confirmation time from 48 hours to just minutes.
In fact, India saw a 6,168% increase in eBookings between 2020 and 2023, while forwarders across Asia are saving an average of an hour per user per day thanks to digital workflows.
That’s not digital transformation. That’s a new operating model – one where digital agility has become a must-have, not a differentiator.
In a region where rates can swing hourly and capacity can disappear in seconds, the ability for forwarders to quote, compare, and book in real time is now as critical as having a credit line or a carrier contract.
Digital Agility in a Volatile Market
The past year has been a stress test for global freight. Between tariff shakeups, shifting trade lanes, and e-commerce volatility, forwarders had to stay nimble – and Asia gave them the playbook.
According to TIACA’s 2025 e-commerce whitepaper, 50% of all transpacific air cargo now consists of e-commerce shipments, and China’s e-commerce exports grew 38% per year since 2021. But with U.S. tariff changes pushing volume out of China and into Vietnam, Thailand, and India, capacity diversity has become the new currency.
That’s why these new partnerships matter – they give forwarders instant visibility into fresh capacity and better control over volatile trade flows.
- Vietnam Airlines, through Lotus Aviation, now connects Europe–Asia lanes with direct Germany–Vietnam bookings and express services to Australia.
- SriLankan Cargo brings forwarders access to Colombo, an emerging transshipment hub bridging India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia – with WebCargo Pay unlocking access for SME forwarders without IATA credit lines.
- Asia Cargo Airlines, powered by Airspire Asia, became Southeast Asia’s first full freighter operator on WebCargo – digitizing critical shipments from Singapore to Indonesia in seconds.
With real-time pricing, live capacity, and a seamless user experience, we’re giving forwarders a powerful tool to optimize logistics while ensuring critical shipments reach their destinations faster,
said Khairul Asyraf, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Airspire Asia.
For forwarders, this means fewer emails, faster bookings, and access to capacity that used to be locked behind GSA desks or long approval chains.
Data, APIs, and Doing: The Asian Freight Formula
What sets the Asian market apart isn’t just scale – it’s execution.
As Ionut Mares, Global Head of Air and Ocean Freight at Nippon Express, noted:
By implementing Freightos’ comprehensive solution across our global operations, we’re not just digitizing processes – we’re reimagining the future of freight management to deliver unprecedented value and efficiency to our customers worldwide.
That mindset – focused on action over aspiration – is why Asia is leading in freight digitization.
For forwarders, this isn’t about having more tools; it’s about integrating smarter data into every quote, every rate check, every customer conversation.
One airline saw 4x higher booking volume per station in just four weeks after going live on WebCargo – because forwarders could book directly, without waiting for manual confirmations. Another expanded to full multimodal quoting – air and ocean – within months, giving logistics teams a single digital workflow for multimodal visibility.
This isn’t theoretical transformation. It’s quantifiable agility.
The Human Side of Digital
It’s tempting to think of digitization as cold automation. But the reality in Asia tells a different story.
Forwarders and carriers aren’t replacing people – they’re removing friction so people can focus where it matters: customers, not spreadsheets.
As Chaminda Perera of SriLankan Cargo explained:
By joining WebCargo, we’re not just digitalizing our booking process – we’re expanding our reach to thousands of new potential customers.
And for forwarders, that’s the whole point: digital doesn’t replace the relationship – it scales it.
Humans still sell.
Tech just removes the distance between intention and action.
And with tools like WebCargo Pay and Freightos Terminal data APIs, forwarders aren’t just keeping up – they’re outpacing legacy competitors still waiting on credit checks and spreadsheet updates – all without the need for enterprise-scale IT budgets.
The Bottom Line: Asia Isn’t Adopting Digital Freight. It’s Defining It.
If 2024 was the year of proof, 2025 is the year of momentum.
Asia’s carriers aren’t dabbling in digitization – they’re scaling it across ecosystems, and forwarders are scaling with them.
From Tokyo to Singapore, from Colombo to Shenzhen, digital booking isn’t an upgrade – it’s the infrastructure of tomorrow’s trade.
Because in Asia, digital agility isn’t optional anymore – it’s oxygen.
And for forwarders, that oxygen means one thing: the ability to move at the speed of their customers.
The future of freight isn’t waiting for lift-off.
It’s already airborne.
