ANA Holdings Inc. expects its cargo unit to receive a boost this year from the global chip shortage as planes loaded with semiconductors help accelerate deliveries to automakers and consumer-electronics manufacturers.
"Supply chains are scrambling for automotive chips, that’s where air cargo can play a role,” Toshiaki Toyama, the chief executive officer of ANA Cargo, said in an interview Wednesday. Congestion at sea ports, along with severe winter weather, is also forcing companies to rely more on air freight, propping up carriers’ deteriorating profits, he said.
"Marine transportation has been very tight since last fall due to the coronavirus, so air cargo is overflowing,” Toyama said.