The release of recent reports underscores the expectation of substantial growth in air cargo around the SE Asian region in the next five years. An article posted by the Jakarta Post last week makes the point that strategic partnerships will be key to Indonesia’s soaring aviation industry.
They say, “Indonesia sits at the heart of one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. With 685 million people in Southeast Asia and proximity to powerhouse economies like China, Japan and South Korea, the nation is primed to become a major player in global aviation.” (Jakarta Post Fri, March 21, 2025).
The rise of homegrown giants including Lion Air, Southeast Asia’s largest airline, is proof of Indonesia’s potential. But to cement its status as a true aviation hub, Indonesia must address critical challenges in infrastructure and workforce development, concludes JP.
A separate report posted by Air Cargo News (ACN) observes that, over the closing months of 2024, rates on airfreight exports out of the region – particularly from places like Vietnam – saw a marked increase against the same period of 2023. Asked how they thought things would pan out over the coming months, one source told ACN that they expected the upward trend in rates to be “sustained” amidst all the talk coming out of the Oval Office of tariffs.
The Air Cargo News (ACN) says, “While Indonesia looks set to be the big winner from upward trends in e-commerce demand, the whole region is forecast to experience year-on-year growth right through to the end of the decade. This, of course, will necessitate demand for capacity, with carriers like SIA and Vietnam Airlines lining themselves up to cater to such demand.”
Meanwhile, Asia’s trade outlook remains positive, mirroring global trade, which is forecast to grow faster over the next five years compared to the preceding decade, as per the latest DHL Trade Atlas 2025 report – released by DHL in collaboration with the New York University Stern School of Business.
India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are expected to rank among the top 30 countries in Asia for both trade growth rate and absolute trade volume between 2024 and 2029, according to a recent report. The prospects of these countries are bright as they have displayed substantial potential to benefit from supply chain shifts and diversification strategies.
Indonesia is predicted to retain its 12th place on the scale rankings, while rising from 33rd to 25th in the speed rankings. More notably, the Philippines is set to leap 114 positions to rank 15th on the speed dimension and rise from 68th to 30th on the scale dimension.
South Asia and the ASEAN regions are forecast to deliver the fastest trade volume growth among major world regions from 2024 to 2029 with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.6% and 5.0%, respectively. In fact, trade growth is also expected to accelerate substantially compared to the previous five-year period in these regions. Other regions such as North America and Europe are forecast to grow at rates of 2.7%.
Also see our related article, Garuda Explores New Partnerships.
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