As companies worldwide accelerate investment in artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, industry leaders say the transportation of AI infrastructure has become one of the fastest-growing areas of global logistics demand.
The topic was a key focus at Dimerco Express Group’s “Beyond the Next Horizon” Supply Chain Summit in Taipei, where more than 150 customers and supply chain experts gathered to mark the company’s 55th anniversary.
AI infrastructure relies on thousands of components manufactured across multiple countries, all of which must be transported and delivered before a data centre can become operational.
According to McKinsey, global demand for data centre capacity could nearly triple by 2030, requiring close to $7 trillion in investment.
Unlike traditional consumer electronics, AI infrastructure involves the movement of oversized, high-value and highly sensitive equipment from manufacturers across Asia to hyperscale data centres being built worldwide.
“AI is like the Industrial Revolution for information,” said Dimerco CEO Jeffrey Shih. “Just as factories once depended on steel, machinery and railroads, AI depends on massive data centres. Every server, switch, cooling system and power component must be manufactured, transported globally, cleared through customs, stored and delivered safely, securely and on schedule.”
Shih said the rapid expansion of AI deployment, combined with increasing equipment values, is creating a more complex logistics environment for companies.
Key challenges include evolving trade compliance requirements, stricter export controls, managing shipments worth tens of millions of US dollars, ensuring damage-free handling of sensitive equipment and coordinating precisely timed deliveries to data centres under construction.
A keynote speaker at the summit was Colley Hwang, Chairman and CEO of DIGITIMES, a Taiwan-based technology media, research and market intelligence organisation focused on semiconductors, computing and global supply chains.
Hwang said technology leaders are increasingly concerned about hardware constraints affecting AI data centre expansion.
“Our readers’ questions have shifted from ‘What can AI do?’ to ‘Where does computing power come from?’” Hwang said.
The summit also examined how AI infrastructure growth is reshaping the air cargo sector. While e-commerce remains a significant demand driver, the rapid deployment of AI servers, networking equipment and other high-value technology components is creating one of the fastest-growing segments of premium air freight, connecting Asian manufacturing hubs with hyperscale data centres worldwide.
Dimerco Chairwoman Catherine Chien said AI represents the next major challenge for supply chain management.
“With global shipping, trade compliance and bonded warehousing services, Dimerco is well positioned to help companies move AI equipment from Asia’s manufacturing base to data centres worldwide,” she said.
Chien added: “AI may be powered by chips, but it’s enabled by logistics.”