The EU’s customs duty on low-value imported parcels has caused e-commerce air cargo volumes to dip, but likely not for long, while AI shipments are rising. Following the implementation of a €3 customs duty on incoming parcels on 1 July, airfreight tonnage from Hong Kong to Europe slumped 12% week-on-week in the week ending 5 July, according to WorldACD. Washington’s end of de minimis exemption last year triggered a massive slump in parcel imports, but volumes climbed again to account for 13% of all US airborne imports in the first quarter of this year, down from 16% a year earlier. The baton has passed to AI-related traffic, filling freighters across the Pacific. US high-tech imports by air surged 70% in the first quarter, pushing the nation’s overall airborne imports 11% higher year-on-year. The ripple effect is powering a surge in project logistics with full order books and long wait times. According to a UN Council for Trade and Economic Development report published in April, the global AI market will soar to $4.8trn by 2033, a 25-fold increase over $189bn in 2023. Many predictions are frothy, including numbers from Wall Street. In the run-up to the SpaceX IPO, banks set target prices from $205 to $800, implying market caps up to $10.4trn, with price-to-sales multiples between 139