Air cargo transportation in Russia is showing a steady decline in 2025. This was stated by Ksenia Klimko, Director of Infrastructure and Investment Projects at the Trust Technologies Group, at the TransRussia Summit plenary session in Moscow. She noted that due to the shortage of the aviation fleet and the shift of logistics routes towards road transportation and multimodal schemes, the role of aviation in the country's cargo transportation system is noticeably decreasing.
According to the company, in January-July 2025, the volume of air transportation amounted to 239 thousand tons, which is 8% less than in the same period of 2024 (259 thousand tons). At the same time, an increase of 3% was recorded in 2024 compared to 2023, which makes the current decline particularly significant.
Nevertheless, according to the forum participants, the growth prospects remain. Mikhail Goncharov from KSTP believes that the demand for fast delivery will only increase, which means that the volume of air transportation will begin to grow over time.
The only segment that showed positive dynamics remains trucking— with an increase of 1% over the same period. The development of automotive logistics is supported by an increase in trade with Asian countries and the rapid growth of the e-commerce segment.
As for other types of transport, the indicators of sea and rail transportation continue to decline. In maritime logistics, the decline is explained by the transfer of some cargo to overland routes and competition with motor transport. The railway is losing volumes amid slowing industrial growth, declining world prices and weakening export activity.
Thus, the logistics industry is currently in a state of restructuring. Priorities are shifting towards more flexible and cheaper delivery schemes, and air transportation is temporarily losing its leading position. However, as experts emphasize, the demand for speed will eventually bring aviation back into the game.
