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

• Top 10 Air Cargo Operators of the World in 2010 in terms of scheduled freight tonne - kilometres (1)
• Top 10 Air Cargo Operators of the World in 2010 in terms of scheduled freight tonne - kilometres (2)

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:

• Top Quality Cargo Airlines of the world in 2011
• Wikipedia: World's Largest Airlines

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:

1. DHL
2. Kuehne + Nagel
3. DB Schenker
4. Panalpina
5. Ceva
6. Sinotrans
7. UPS
8. Expeditors
9. Nippon Express
10. Kintetsu

see also:

• Top 10 Freight Forwarders of the World in 2010 (in terms of combined air and sea freight revenues)
• Top 5 Freight Forwarders of the World in 2010 (in terms of combined air and sea freight revenues)
• Top 100 Third Party Logistics (3PL) Companies of the world in 2011

Express and Couriers

• Top 10 Shipping (International Express) companies

Airports

• Top 50 Cargo Airports of the World in 2010 (in terms of tonnes cargo traffic handled)
• Top 10 Cargo Airports of the World in 2010 (in terms of tonnes cargo traffic handled)

And here are some links to industry sources:

• IATA Cargo Analysis Archives 
• IATA WATS - World Air Transport Statistics

• EUROSTAT Air Transport Statistics 

• ATW - Air Transport World - World Airline Report 2011
• ATW - Air Transport World - Trends 2010 
• ATW - Air Transport World - Facts & Figures 2010

• Analytiqa - Home of Logistics and Supply Chain Research
• CAPA - Centre for Aviation 
• Drewry - Maritime Research 
• Stifel Equity Research Group 
• Transport Iintelligence - Market Intelligence for the Transport and Logistics Industry