YTO Cargo Airlines, a Top 5 Chinese Carrier, Joins WebCargo by Freightos, Boosting Digital Access to China-South Asia

Rhea-AI Summary

Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO) has announced a strategic partnership with YTO Cargo Airlines, one of China's top 5 cargo carriers, to integrate YTO's full capacity exclusively on the WebCargo by Freightos platform. This marks YTO as the first all-cargo Chinese airline to join the platform, which already hosts over 75 airlines.

The partnership will provide freight forwarders with instant access to real-time pricing, booking capabilities, and integrated payments for routes between China and South Asia, initially focusing on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The integration significantly reduces quote-to-confirmation time from up to 48 hours to just minutes, particularly benefiting sectors like perishables, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and cross-border e-commerce.

Positive

• First Chinese all-cargo airline to join WebCargo platform, expanding Freightos' Asian presence
• Reduces booking confirmation time from 48 hours to minutes
• Exclusive partnership providing access to critical China-South Asia routes
• Integration with over 75 airlines on the platform enhancing network connectivity

Negative

• None.

Insights

Logistics & Supply Chain Analyst

Freightos adds major Chinese cargo airline YTO to its platform, strengthening its Asian market position and digital freight booking capabilities.

This strategic partnership with YTO Cargo Airlines represents a significant expansion of Freightos' digital freight booking ecosystem. As the first all-cargo Chinese airline to join WebCargo, YTO brings crucial capacity to high-demand China-South Asia routes—a trade corridor experiencing substantial growth but historically challenged by booking inefficiencies.

The technical integration delivers three critical advantages: dramatically reduced booking times (from 48 hours to minutes), real-time pricing transparency, and integrated payment processing. For freight forwarders, this translates to immediate operational efficiencies when handling time-sensitive shipments like pharmaceuticals and perishables.

From a competitive standpoint, this exclusive arrangement strengthens Freightos' market position against rival booking platforms by securing privileged access to one of China's five largest cargo airlines. The addition of YTO expands Freightos' network beyond the 75+ airlines already on its platform, enhancing its value proposition particularly for customers needing reliable China-South Asia capacity.

The phased geographical rollout—starting with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before expanding to Persian Gulf and European routes—follows a logical market penetration strategy targeting regions with significant trade volumes but underdeveloped digital infrastructure. This partnership directly addresses the digital transformation imperatives in Asian air cargo markets where manual booking processes still predominate.

Digital Transformation Strategist

This partnership represents a pivotal digital evolution for both companies. For YTO, this marks a significant milestone in their digital transformation journey, coinciding with their 10th anniversary. The airline is leapfrogging from traditional manual booking processes to a fully digitized model—something many Asian carriers have been slow to implement.

For Freightos, securing an exclusive partnership with a top-five Chinese cargo carrier demonstrates their platform's maturity and strengthens their vendor-neutral positioning. The technical integration enabling real-time pricing, instant booking, and interline connections addresses several critical friction points in international freight operations.

What's particularly notable is the end-to-end digital integration capabilities being implemented. The partnership doesn't just digitize booking—it encompasses the complete transaction cycle including payments and interline connections. This comprehensive approach accelerates adoption by eliminating partial digitization bottlenecks that plague many logistics digital transformation initiatives.

The timing aligns with broader digital acceleration trends in Asian logistics, particularly as cross-border e-commerce volumes continue to surge, requiring more responsive and transparent capacity management. By connecting YTO's network with Freightos' platform, they're creating a digital ecosystem that particularly benefits specialized cargo segments like pharmaceuticals and electronics where time-sensitivity and transparency are paramount.

From a strategic perspective, this partnership represents a classic platform expansion play—adding a significant supply-side participant that enhances overall network value and creates a stronger competitive moat for Freightos in the Asian market.

BARCELONA, Spain and HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO), the leading vendor-neutral global freight booking and payment platform, and YTO Cargo Airlines (Shanghai: 600233.SH), one of China's five largest cargo carriers, today announced a partnership that will bring YTO's full capacity exclusively to the WebCargo by Freightos platform. This milestone makes YTO the first all-cargo Chinese airline on the booking platform, adding to the network of more than 75 airlines already live on the platform. The collaboration will give freight forwarders seamless access to real-time pricing, instant booking, interline connections, and integrated payments across high-demand, critical lanes between China and South Asia, initially focusing on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before expanding to the Persian Gulf and Europe.

YTO's digital transformation, on the eve of its 10th anniversary, marks a significant evolution in the carrier's capabilities. With this transformation, capacity will be available rapidly and transparently on Freightos' platform, cutting the traditional quote-to-confirmation cycle from up to 48 hours to just minutes. It also offers forwarders speed-to-booking across perishables, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and cross-border e-commerce, all supported by Hangzhou's Cross-Border E-Commerce Pilot Zone.

"Freight forwarders need fast, reliable access to South Asia-China capacity and, when they do, they need it fast," said Joyce Tai, Freightos' EVP of Worldwide Partnerships. "By bringing YTO's dedicated freighter network onto Freightos' platform for booking, payment, and interline, we're removing friction where it matters most, and making global trade smoother and more efficient. This partnership significantly strengthens our platform's offering in Asia, which remains a strategic priority in our expansion plans. And with Freightos Enterprise, forwarders and shippers can manage the full lifecycle in one integrated suite."

"As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, YTO Cargo Airlines remains steadfast in advancing the digitalization and globalization of air logistics," said Hong Xiang Li, President of YTO Cargo Airlines. "By joining the WebCargo by Freightos platform, we enhance our digital service capabilities while diversifying distribution channels. We are confident that this collaboration will accelerate our international market expansion, reinforcing YTO's transformation into a world-class integrated logistics and supply chain service provider."

Freight forwarders looking to book YTO Cargo Airlines on WebCargo by Freightos can register for free on WebCargo here.

About Freightos:

Freightos (Nasdaq: CRGO) is the leading vendor-neutral global freight booking platform. Airlines, ocean carriers, thousands of freight forwarders, and well over ten thousand importers and exporters connect on Freightos, making world trade efficient, agile, and resilient.

The Freightos platform digitizes the trillion dollar international freight industry, supported by a suite of software solutions that span pricing, quoting, booking, shipment management, and payments for businesses of all shapes and sizes around the globe. Products include Freightos Enterprise for multinational importers and exporters, Freightos Marketplace for small importers and exporters, WebCargo and 7LFreight by WebCargo for freight forwarders, WebCargo for Airlines, and Clearit, a digital customs broker.

Freightos is a leading provider of real-time industry data via Freightos Terminal, which includes the world's leading spot pricing indexes, Freightos Air Index (FAX) for air cargo and Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) for container shipping. Futures of FBX are traded on CME and SGX. More information is available at freightos.com/investors.

About YTO Cargo Airlines:

Hangzhou YTO Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. ("YTO Cargo Airlines"), headquartered at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in Zhejiang Province, is a wholly owned subsidiary of YTO Express Group (YTO EXPRESS). As Zhejiang's sole large-scale all-cargo airline certified under CCAR-121 regulations, it operates scheduled and charter air cargo services across domestic (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and international markets. Since its maiden flight in September 2015, YTO Cargo Airlines has emerged as a leading player in China's air freight sector, with annual capacity exceeding 200,000 tons and a network of more than 150 cargo routes spanning Asia and Eastern Europe, with a strategic focus on Pan-Asian connectivity and key Eastern European hubs.

Media Contact:
Tali Aronsky
PR Lead, Freightos
tali.aronsky@freightos.com

Investor Contact:
Anat Earon-Heilborn
ir@freightos.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2776366/FREIGHTOS_YTO_Cargo_Team.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319256/Freightos_Logo.jpg

 

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SOURCE Freightos

FAQ

What is the significance of YTO Cargo Airlines joining WebCargo by Freightos?

YTO is the first all-cargo Chinese airline to join the platform, providing digital access to critical China-South Asia routes and reducing booking confirmation time from 48 hours to minutes.

Which regions will be covered by the YTO Cargo Airlines and Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO) partnership?

The partnership will initially focus on routes between China and South Asia (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) before expanding to the Persian Gulf and Europe.

How does the Freightos and YTO partnership benefit freight forwarders?

Freight forwarders gain real-time pricing, instant booking capabilities, interline connections, and integrated payments, reducing quote-to-confirmation time from 48 hours to minutes.

What types of cargo will be supported through the YTO and WebCargo platform?

The platform will support various cargo types including perishables, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and cross-border e-commerce.

How many airlines are currently available on the WebCargo by Freightos platform?

The platform hosts more than 75 airlines, with YTO Cargo Airlines being the latest addition as the first Chinese all-cargo carrier.