LATAM Cargo has moved 800 tonnes of freight in the first year of its direct freighter service between Miami (MIA) and Belo Horizonte's Confins airport (CNF), underscoring demand for a non-stop air cargo link between Florida and Brazil's Minas Gerais industrial heartland.

The figure, reported as the route marked its first 12 months of operation, positions the Miami–Belo Horizonte lane as a niche but growing corridor in the Brazil–US air freight market — one dominated otherwise by gateway traffic into São Paulo's Guarulhos and Rio de Janeiro's Galeão.

For shippers in Minas Gerais, the appeal is straightforward. A direct freighter into Confins eliminates road trucking from São Paulo, cutting transit time and reducing the risk of delay for time-sensitive and higher-value cargo. Exporters of automotive components, pharmaceuticals and perishables — the typical cargo profile for the region — gain a dedicated maindeck option rather than relying on bellyhold capacity routed through Brazil's southeast hubs.

For forwarders, the service adds schedule certainty on a lane where capacity has historically been indirect and consolidated. LATAM's decision to commit freighter aircraft to CNF signals confidence that cargo generation in the region can sustain regular maindeck operations.

The 800-tonne first-year volume is modest against the scale of Brazil's total air cargo flows, but it establishes a baseline for a route that had no direct freighter alternative before launch. Sustained growth from that base will determine whether LATAM keeps the link as a fixture of its South Brazil network.

The carrier has not signalled changes to the frequency for the coming months, and the route's trajectory will hinge on whether Minas Gerais shippers continue converting truck-to-Guarulhos flows onto the direct Confins service.