Delta Cargo plugs into CargoWise

Delta Cargo is now inside CargoWise. Forwarders should check the price before they trust the button.
Delta Cargo has connected directly to CargoWise, the freight-forwarding software run by WiseTech Global. Air Cargo News reported the move on 14 October. CargoWise says its customers include 23 of the 25 largest global freight forwarders. Those users can now see Delta’s schedules, rates and live capacity, and book, confirm, change and manage Delta shipments without leaving the system they already work in.
Our view is simple. This is useful, and it will save time on busy desks. But it does not answer the question that matters most to a forwarder: is the rate and space on CargoWise the same deal Delta offers through its other channels? Delta now sells digitally in at least three places. The announcements show those places do not offer the same features. Until that is clear, forwarders should treat the new button as one more quote, not the final word.

What Delta actually announced

The detail comes from Air Cargo News. It describes a “direct data connection”. That means Delta’s systems talk straight to CargoWise through an API, a software link that passes data between two systems automatically. No one has to retype a booking from an email or copy rates out of a portal.
According to the article, the link lets forwarders “act on Delta Cargo’s live capacity availability and rates in real-time as customer enquiries arrive.” It adds: “They can tailor bookings by commodity, configure routing options, and easily change bookings”.
Peter Penseel, president of Delta Cargo, said: “This integration is a natural next step to making Delta Cargo easier to do business with and delivering a more seamless customer experience.” He also said: “By connecting directly to CargoWise, we’re expanding the ways customers can access Delta Cargo services through the platforms they use every day”.
That phrase, “the platforms they use every day”, is the point. Many forwarders spend their day inside CargoWise. They quote, book, file customs entries and invoice there. An airline that is bookable inside the system gets seen first.
The article leaves several things out. It gives no go-live date. It does not say which airports or markets are covered. And it does not mention allotments. An allotment is space a forwarder has agreed in advance with an airline, usually at a contract rate, on set flights.

Three channels, three different offers

This is Delta’s third digital step this year. Air Cargo News says Delta added five-day flight search in July, instead of searching one day at a time. In April, at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Penseel signed a partnership with CargoAi, an online air cargo booking marketplace, according to Air Freight News on 3 April.
That CargoAi deal went live in August. FBJ reported on 24 August that CargoAi users can reach Delta’s capacity and pricing either on the CargoAi marketplace or through direct links to their own transport management systems. A transport management system, or TMS, is the software a forwarder uses to plan and book freight. FBJ said the CargoAi offer covers 15 markets: US domestic and international services, Costa Rica, the UK, Ireland and 11 European countries. It includes general cargo and express products, lithium battery shipments, allotment booking and support for built-up pallets. Those are pallets loaded and strapped by the forwarder before they reach the airline.
Now compare that with the CargoWise announcement. It mentions none of the specific products, none of the markets and no allotments.
That may simply be how the press release was written. The CargoWise link may well carry all of the same. But forwarders cannot assume it. If your contracted Delta space only appears on one channel, your team will still be switching screens, and the time saved is smaller than it looks.
The bigger issue is price. When one airline sells through several channels, small gaps between them can open up. A rate on a marketplace, a rate in CargoWise and a rate on the airline’s own portal may differ because of fees, promotions or how quickly each feed updates. Neither announcement says the prices are identical across channels. Nor does either say they are not.

Delta is catching up, not leading

Delta is not the first airline in CargoWise. It is not even the first big US passenger airline.
Singapore Airlines linked its eBooking system to CargoWise in December 2021, according to a CargoWise release from the time. In September 2022, Cargo News Wire reported that Air Canada Cargo had become the first North American carrier with a direct data link. In that report, WiseTech’s Jorre Cobelens said: “CargoWise now enables direct data exchange with most API connectable airlines, including Air Canada Cargo.”
The closest comparison is American Airlines Cargo. STAT Times reported on 20 May 2026 that American had joined CargoWise’s carrier connectivity programme. It described American as part of “a growing group of international air freight carriers that have directly integrated with CargoWise”. American’s link also supports IATA ONE Record, a newer industry standard for sharing shipment data, and lets users send the master air waybill digitally.
So Delta arrives about five months after its biggest domestic rival. For forwarders on transatlantic and US domestic lanes, Delta and American can now both be booked directly in CargoWise. That matters for belly cargo, the freight carried in the hold of passenger planes. On many routes, belly space competes directly with freighter capacity.

What happened the last time the industry made this bet

Airlines have been pushing digital booking for years, and the forecasts have run ahead.
In December 2022, Cargo Facts reported on a cargo.one survey of carriers. It found “near-universal agreement” that digital sales would keep growing. It said that “almost 60% of air carrier bookings” were “expected to come through digital channels by 2025”. That was a forecast from airlines, not a measured result.
The lesson for forwarders is that connections get announced faster than habits change. A link existing is not the same as a desk using it. Our read is that plenty of air freight is still booked by email, phone and contract. Digital channels tend to win first on simple, spot shipments: standard cargo, common airports, no special handling. Contracted space, dangerous goods and awkward pieces often still go through a person.
That is why the missing details in Delta’s announcement matter. If CargoWise handles allotments and special products, it can carry serious volume. If it handles only spot general cargo, it will stay a convenience for small, simple bookings.

What forwarders should do now

Peak season has started, so the timing is useful. Here is what we would do.
First, test it. Pick five or six of your regular Delta lanes. Price the same shipment on CargoWise, on CargoAi if you use it, and on Delta’s own portal or through your sales contact. Do it on the same day, ideally at the same hour. Write down the results.
Second, ask Delta directly. Which markets are live on CargoWise? Are allotments visible and bookable there? Are lithium batteries, express and built-up pallets included? Is the rate the same as on other channels, and if not, why?
Third, check the change process. The article says bookings can be changed easily inside CargoWise. Make a test change and see how fast confirmation comes back. In peak, a fast change matters more than a fast first booking.
Fourth, think about your customers. Shippers who see faster quotes elsewhere will expect the same from you. If a junior on your desk can quote a Delta spot rate in minutes inside CargoWise, that becomes the service level customers expect.
For smaller forwarders that do not use CargoWise, the news cuts the other way. More airline content flowing straight into the largest forwarders’ systems makes their quoting faster. Marketplaces such as CargoAi remain the obvious route for everyone else. That is likely why Delta is on both.

Our call

This is our prediction. Within six months, by mid-April 2027, at least one more major US or European passenger airline will announce a direct CargoWise connection. American moved in May. Delta has followed in October. With CargoWise claiming 23 of the 25 largest forwarders, being bookable inside it is becoming a basic requirement for any airline chasing forwarder volume.
We also expect the next round of these announcements to say more about allotments and rate parity, meaning the same price on every channel. Forwarders will start asking those questions this peak season. Airlines that cannot answer clearly will find their CargoWise link gets used for quick spot quotes and little else.

Sources

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• Air Cargo News — Delta Cargo continues digital expansion with CargoWise roll out, 14 Oct 2026 \
• FBJ — CargoAi to offer Delta capacity, 24 Aug 2026 \
• Air Freight News — Delta Cargo and CargoAi sign digital partnership agreement at IATA World Cargo Symposium, 3 Apr 2026 \
• STAT Times — American Airlines Cargo joins CargoWise for real-time eBookings, 20 May 2026 \
• Cargo News Wire — CargoWise makes eBookings more efficient for Air Canada Cargo customers, 27 Sep 2022 \
• CargoWise — Singapore Airlines and WiseTech Global enter partnership to enable real time eBookings, 9 Dec 2021 \
• Cargo Facts — 60% of bookings to come from digital channels by 2025, 20 Dec 2022