Air cargo has increased dramatically over the past decades. Over a hundred years ago, the first flights carried mail over relatively short distances but set in motion activities that would transform trade and economies. Today, air cargo transports over $6 trillion of goods – making up around 35% of all global trade by value – and continues to grow.
Flight Planning & Cargo Guides
Growth in Cargo Carried Globally
Put simply, the availability of air cargo has transformed global trade, and with it many countries economies. As air transport connectivity and available volume have increased, so have the opportunities for export and import. Increasing volume has also led to lower costs. Air cargo has transformed the abilities of countries, regardless of location, to connect to other markets.
Aviation can offer reliable and fast connectivity, even if other services are lacking. IATA estimates that a 1% improvement in a countries’ air cargo connectivity leads to a 6% increase in trade.
To get an idea of the continuing expansion in air cargo, consider the growth in the past 30 years. In the early 1990s, less than 20 million tonnes of freight were carried by air. Today, that volume is over 50 million tonnes. This has changed the supply chain of many products and enabled the shipping of components for assembly worldwide.
Increasing Productivity & Opening up New Markets
With a reliable air cargo network in place, industries have flourished in many countries. Perishables such as food and flowers have, of course, been able to be delivered further. High tech and specialized sectors have expanded significantly too, able to rely on air connectivity. According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), this long-term productivity growth is the major contributor to economic growth.
For sectors that have taken advantage of improvements in air cargo, there has been impressive growth in recent years. According to data from ATAG, over the decade from 2002 onwards, annual growth was 8% for medical machinery, 7.5% for the semi-conductor industry, 6.9% for pharmaceutics, and 6.1% for exotic fruits.
Medicines & Humanitarian Aid
It is not just manufactured goods and freight that have benefitted from the growth in air cargo. More medicine and vaccines have been shared across the world – shipped at high speed and in a controlled environment. This is harder to measure as an effect on the economy, but it has had a major humanitarian benefit. The World Health Organization estimates that shipped vaccines now save up to three million child deaths per year.
The speed that aviation can respond has also played a vital role in emergency response and humanitarian crises. Approximately 62,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid are delivered by air each year. We have seen plenty of this fast response in action during the pandemic.
Growth in the Global Freight Fleet
We can’t predict exactly how much freight volumes will impact the economy in the coming years. But looking at the expected growth in the air freighter market shows how growth is likely to continue at an impressive rate.
IATA estimates that the global fleet of freighter aircraft will expand by 70% over the next 20 years. Manufacturer Boeing (whose 777 and 747 aircraft currently dominate the freighter market) predicts that by 2039 2,430 new freighter aircraft will be required – with approximately half of these to replace aging aircraft and half to meet growing demand.
Final Thoughts
Improving airport infrastructure, increasing connectivity, and growing freighter fleets have transformed air cargo over the past years. With this, improving options and reliability, and lowering costs, have expanded trade for many companies and boosted economies globally. Air cargo traffic has remained strong during the pandemic (volume dropped 12% but overall revenues rose 15%). The sector looks set to stay strong, offering further ways for economies to grow.
