Facts and Figures

Air Cargo Facts & Figures


On this page you will find information and some links to available air cargo facts & figures or suppliers thereof:



General

According to different sources, air cargo represents less than 0.5 percent of the weight of all international cargo, while at the same time this segment represents around 30 percent of the total worldwide shipment value. 

In 2012, the global aviation industry transported $6.4 trillion worth of cargo, which is actually 35% of world trade by value.

According to plane maker Boeing in 2012, cargo-only aircraft or freighters handle about 60 percent of global airfreight shipments, while passenger planes fly the other 40 percent in their bellies. 

According to IATA, in 2012, the 240 IATA airlines together moved 42.621.000 tons of cargo. 


USA Review - ACW 24th June 2013
Los angeles-based research company IBIS World says annual air cargo revenue is expected to reach $75.4 billion by the end of this year. According to industry analyst Lauren Setar, the sector employs 263,000 people in 12,123 companies and because it remains "essential" to international trade, it enjoys a degree of demand stability. Setar says there are signs the sector has begun to rebound from the 2008/9 global downturn when overall revenue plummeted 24.6 per cent. "Due to greater freight volumes and higher prices, the industry has returned to a more sustainable growth rate, which includes an estimated increase of 2.9 per cent in 2013," she adds.

Setar cites government regulation as the biggest factor behind the industry's fragmentation with the four largest companies - Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Cargo, Cathay Pacific and Korean Air Lines accounting for slightly more than 20 per cent of total revenue.

IBIS World says total sector revenue is expected to rise in the five years to 2018, mainly due to expansion in newly industrialized economies; an increase in manufacturing output in China and other parts of Asia; a rise in consumer demand; and a subsequent boost to freight rates.



Air Cargo Operators


Airlines

According to ACW in 2011 the top 20 cargo carriers in 2010 (by scheduled freight-tonnes carried) are:

  1. FedEx
  2. UPS Airlines
  3. Korean Air
  4. Emirates
  5. Cathay Pacific Airways
  6. United Airlines
  7. China Airlines
  8. Singapore Airlines
  9. China Eastern Airlines
  10. Air China
  11. China Southern Airlines
  12. Lufthansa
  13. Japan Airlines
  14. All Nippon Airways
  15. EVA Air 
  16. Asiana Airlines
  17. Cargolux 
  18. Thai Airways
  19. LAN Airlines
  20. British Airways
According to ACW in 2012, "the top nine carriers in the 56th edition of IATA’s recently released World Air Transport Statistics for 2011 — ranked by scheduled freight-tonne kilometers in domestic, international and total tonnage categories — were unchanged from the previous year. There were significant movements in the rest of the top 50, determined largely by geography, but this is the year in which the tectonic plates are really beginning to shift. When the league tables for 2012 are published in a year’s time, the world could see a reshuffling of the pack right from top to bottom."

Take care that these figures will change significantly when domestic cargo is left out to show international figures only, and also when airline groups instead of individual airlines are taken into account (e.g. IAG, Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM-Martinair group, etc.).

see also:


Freight Forwarders and 3PL

According to research by consultancy firm Transport Intelligence in 2012, the current worldwide ranking of air freight forwarders is as follows:
see also:


Express and Couriers


Airports




And here are some links to industry sources:





4 comments:

RachaelSable said...

Thanks for great information you write it very clean. Keep posting.

Anonymous said...

Ronald, many thanks for the great effort you put & information you write. Keep posting.

Patricio Pantheleon said...

Your compilation of air cargo facts gives a glimpse of the progress of this industry. I do hope this reliable freight forwarder in the philippines could be listed on the top ten list of the greats someday.

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