Incheon launches 'Logistics AX Alliance' to drive AI transformation of freight industry

Incheon is moving to transform its logistics industry by integrating AI into the existing freight infrastructure built around Incheon International Airport and Incheon Port.

The city officially launched the Incheon Logistics AX Alliance on Wednesday at Harbor Park Hotel, with about 100 representatives from logistics companies, universities, research institutes and public institutions in attendance, formally activating a public-private-academic-research cooperative aimed at driving AI-based innovation in the logistics sector.

The alliance goes beyond simply digitizing logistics systems. It is designed to advance what the city calls "Logistics AX" — AI Transformation — by applying artificial intelligence directly to real-world freight operations.

The initiative is the flagship AI project under Incheon's "ABC+EF" agenda, a set of core priorities for the city's 9th elected administration. The plan envisions connecting Incheon's logistics infrastructure — its airport, port and surrounding freight complexes — with AI technology to build a new industrial ecosystem.

Through the alliance, Incheon plans to pursue a phased approach covering technology development that reflects the on-the-ground needs of logistics companies, field verification, regulatory reform, specialist workforce training and joint responses to government grant competitions.

Participating companies include major logistics and IT firms such as CJ Logistics, Hanjin, Coupang Inc, LX Pantos, Lotte Global Logistics, Samsung SDS and LG CNS, alongside robotics, AI and logistics technology companies.

Universities including Inha University, Incheon National University, Hanyang University and KAIST have also joined the cooperative, as have research institutions such as the Incheon Research Institute, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Railroad Research Institute and Korea Automobile Research Institute. Public institutions including Incheon Port Authority, Incheon International Airport Corporation and Incheon Technopark round out the membership.

The city plans to organize working groups within the alliance covering policy and regulatory reform, data, field verification and commercialization, and talent development, with the aim of identifying concrete projects in each area.

Incheon intends to connect logistics companies with AI and technology firms to identify joint research and development projects, then verify the resulting technologies at actual freight sites including the airport, port, industrial complexes and new towns.

The city will also build a "Logistics AX Data Platform" linking transportation and urban spatial data with port shipping and logistics data from Incheon Port and air cargo information from Incheon International Airport.

Over the longer term, the city plans to establish a dedicated research organization and a living-lab-style testbed where new technologies and products can be trialed in real-world conditions.

The broader ambition is to develop Incheon into a hub for exporting Korean logistics AX technology — taking innovations developed and verified in the city and spreading them to other regions and overseas markets.

The city plans to leverage its existing industrial strengths as the foundation for that competitiveness: Incheon International Airport ranks among the world's top three airports by air cargo volume, Incheon Port handles more than 3 million TEUs annually, and the city is home to roughly 29,000 logistics-related businesses.

At Wednesday's launch ceremony, the city unveiled its vision — "Incheon: a city where AI becomes reality, a global leader in Logistics AX" — and presented its medium- and long-term roadmap.

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae said the concentration of an airport, a port and logistics complexes in one place was "a great asset for Incheon," adding that the public and private sectors must work together as one team for the Logistics AX ecosystem to take root. "I will spare no administrative or fiscal support to ensure that Incheon's Logistics AX ecosystem becomes a new standard for South Korea and a global benchmark," he said.