INDUSTRIES & MARKETS

Air cargo industry worldwide

 Table of Contents

01 Overview 04 Outlook
Market size of the global cargo airline industry 2018-2021 03 Air cargo traffic growth by type and scenario 2020-2039 21
Air cargo traffic - worldwide revenue 2004-2022 04 Air cargo growth rates by region 2020-2039 22
Air cargo traffic - worldwide volume 2004-2023 05 Global air cargo traffic: belly cargo vs main cargo FTKs 2019 23
Air freight rates change since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak 2019-2022 06 Size of air freighter fleet globally by region 2019-2040 24
New-build and converted air freighters by region 2020-2039 25
02 Segments
Air cargo traffic worldwide by region 2009-2019 08
Global air cargo traffic by freight type 2007-2019 09
Worldwide air freight traffic by route area 2020 10
Global aviation industry: monthly FTK change 2020-2021 11

03 Companies
Airlines worldwide - total freight tonne-kilometers 2020 13
Top North American airfreight forwarders 2021 14
Largest cargo airports worldwide by freight volume 2019-2022 15
Freight revenue generated by FedEx Express 2013-2023 16
Emirates Group's amount of cargo carried FY 2013/14-2022/23 17
Qatar Airways' amount of cargo carried FY 2017-2022 18
Quarterly airfreight revenue of DHL 2014-2021 19

1
CHAPTER 01

Overview
 Market size of the cargo airline industry worldwide from 2018 to 2021 (in billion
U.S. dollars)
Market size of the global cargo airline industry 2018-2021

140

122.96
120 114.41
110.8
103.46
Market size in billion U.S. dollars

100

80

60

40

20

0
2018 2019 2020 2021*

3 Description: In 2020, the global cargo airline industry was valued at 110.8 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach almost 123 billion U.S. dollars in size by 2021. The leading cargo airlines worldwide include FedEx, UPS and DHL. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2018 to 2020; * Value is projected. Read more
Source(s): IBISWorld
 Worldwide revenue of cargo airlines from 2004 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Air cargo traffic - worldwide revenue 2004-2022

200
180 175
168.9
160
140 128.8
Revenue in billion U.S. dollars

120 113.3
96.1 95.9 100.8 101.2
100 95.1 92.1 92.9
84.1 87.9 88.6 83.8
76.2 80.8
80 66.7 68.6 70.6
60
40
20
0
0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 8 0 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 ** VI
D 2 1
2 **
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 D
* O 20 2
VI t-C 20
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20

4 Description: In 2021, despite the coronavirus outbreak, the cargo airline industry generated revenue streams of 175 billion U.S. dollars. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2004 to 2020; * This figure was taken from a previous edition which was released prior to the coronavirus outbreak and can be accessed here . ** Forecast Figures prior to 2016 were taken from previous reports. 2021 figure is [...] Read more
Source(s): Airfinance Journal (Airline Analyst); IATA; ICAO; Refinitiv; S&P Global Platts
 Worldwide air freight traffic from 2004 to 2021, with an estimate for 2022 and 2023
(in million metric tons)
Air cargo traffic - worldwide volume 2004-2023

70
65.6
63.5
61.5 61.5 60.3
60 57 57.7
54 54.8 55.4
50.5 50.7 50.7 51.7
50 46.7 46.4
Freight in million metric tons

44.6
40.9 41.9 42.3
40

30

20

10

0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022* 2023*
*

5 Description: Following somewhat slow growth in the early 2010`s, the global volume of air freight increased rapidly in recent years with freight volumes reaching 65.6 million metric tons in 2021. This value was forecasted to reach 57.7 million metric tons in 2023.
Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2004 to 2021; * Estimate. ** Forecast Figures prior to 2019 were taken from previous reports. Read more
Source(s): Airfinance Journal (Airline Analyst); IATA; ICAO; Refinitiv; S&P Global Platts
 Impact of coronavirus on major global air freight rates between December 2019 to
March 2022 (in U.S. dollars per kilogram)
Air freight rates change since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak 2019-2022

Frankfurt - North America Hong Kong - Europe Hong Kong - North America

14

12
Air freight rates in U.S. dollars per kilogram

10

0
1 9 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 l 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 l 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
ec n b ar r ay n Ju g p ct ov ec n b ar r ay n Ju g p ct ov ec n b ar
D Ja Fe M Ap M Ju Au Se O N D Ja Fe M Ap M Ju Au Se O N D Ja Fe M

6 Description: In December 2021, airfreight rates between Hong Kong and North America were at an all-time high of 12.72 U.S. dollars per kilogram since the coronavirus pandemic started. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak spreads across the globe,
many more countries restrict the transportation of goods across borders or ban it, thus, affecting the international airfreight rates as well. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; December 2019 to March 2022
Source(s): Air Cargo News; Baltic Exchange; TAC Index
CHAPTER 02

Segments
 Air cargo traffic worldwide from 2009 to 2019, by region (in million revenue ton-
kilometers)
Air cargo traffic worldwide by region 2009-2019

Africa East Asia and Oceania Russia and Central Asia Europe
Latin America Middle East North America South Asia

300,000

250,000
Air cargo traffic in million RTKs

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

8 Description: Air cargo traffic increased across all regions worldwide from 2009 to 2019. Over this period, the East Asia and Oceania region had the highest air cargo traffic volume that amounted to no less than 65 billion revenue ton kilometers each year in this
period. Overall, 2018 was the year with the highest recorded air cargo traffic. In 2019, air cargo traffic accounted to over 263.7 billion RTKs. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2009 to 2019
Source(s): Boeing
 Air cargo traffic worldwide from 2007 to 2019, by freight type (in billion revenue ton
kilometers)
Global air cargo traffic by freight type 2007-2019

Scheduled freight Charter freight Mail

300
Air cargo traffic in billion revenue ton kilometers

250

200

150

100

50

0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

9 Description: This statistic depicts the air cargo traffic worldwide from 2007 to 2019, broken down by freight type. In 2019, charter freight traffic totaled just under 18 billion revenue ton kilometers worldwide, down from 18.12 billion in the previous year. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2007 to 2019
Source(s): Boeing
 Distribution of international scheduled freight tonne-kilometers (FTKs) worldwide in
2020, by route area
Worldwide air freight traffic by route area 2020

Share of FTKs
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
North America-Asia 26.9%

20.8%

North America-Europe 12%

7.4%

Asia-Middle East 6.8%

4.8%

North America-South America 2.9%

2.3%

Within Europe 2.3%

2.2%

Europe-Africa 2.1%

1.8%

Asia-Africa 1.1%

0.9%
Europe-Central America &
0.9%
Carribbean

10 Description: In 2020, the North America-Asia route was the most busiest in terms of international scheduled freight; approximately 27 percent of the global international freight tone-kilometers (FTKs) were transported on this route. In that year, freight and mail
was transported on over 231.4 billion tonne-kilometers worldwide. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): IATA
 Year-on-year freight tonne kilometer (FTK) change from January 2020 to December
2021, by region
Global aviation industry: monthly FTK change 2020-2021

Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Africa Total market Middle East North America

100%

80%

60%

40%
Year-on-year change

20%

0%

-20%

-40%

-60%

-80%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
'20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '20 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21 '21

11 Description: Due to the coronavirus outbreak worldwide, airlines in the Asia Pacific region saw a decrease in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) of 5.6 percent in December 2020 compared with December 2019. The next year, FTKs improved in the region, growing by
46.2 percent in April 2021 compared with the same month in 2020. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; January 2019 to December 2020
Source(s): IATA
CHAPTER 03

Companies
 Leading airlines worldwide by international and domestic freight tonne-kilometers
in 2020 (in millions)
Airlines worldwide - total freight tonne-kilometers 2020

Freight tonne kilometers in millions

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

Federal Express 19,656

United Parcel Service 14,371

Qatar Airways 13,740

Emirates 9,569
Airline

Cathay Pacific Airways 8,137

Korean Air 8,104

Cargolux 7,345

Turkish Airlines 6,977

China Southern Airlines 6,591

China Airlines 6,317

13 Description: In 20020, Qatar Airways was the third leading airline worldwide based on system-wide freight tonne-kilometers with over 13.7 billion freight tonne-kilometers. That year, the U.S. company FedEx transported freight on almost 19.7 billion tonne-
kilometers. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020; * Data includes operations of Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa-marketed flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, Germanwings, Privatair, Tyrolean Airways, AeroLogic. Read more
Source(s): IATA
 The leading airfreight forwarders in North America in 2021, based on volume (in
1,000 metric tons)*
Top North American airfreight forwarders 2021

Volume in thousand metric tons

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500

Kuehne + Nagel Switzerland 2,220

DHL Supply Chain Germany 2,096

DSV A/S Switzerland 1,600

DB Schenker USA Germany 1,400

Expeditors International of Washington United States 1,047.2

Nippon Express Co Japan 971.76

UPS Supply Chain Solutions United States 965.7

Bollore Logistics France 656

Kintetsu World Express Japan 556.88

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Germany 552.64

14 Description: With almost 1.8 million metric tons of air freight transported, the Swiss global transport and logistics company Kühne + Nagel ranked first in the list of leading airfreight forwarders, followed by DHL Supply Chain and DSV A/S. Read more
Note(s): North America; 2021; * Values are based on air cargo volume shipped for the most recent 12-month period. Values have been rounded. Read more
Source(s): Armstrong & Associates; TransForce Group; Transport Topics
 Cargo airports worldwide by freight volume from 2019 to 2022 (in million tons)
Largest cargo airports worldwide by freight volume 2019-2022

Freight volume in million tons

2022 2021 2020 2019

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Hong Kong (HKG)

Memphis (MEM)

Anchorage (ANC)*

Shanghai (PVG)

Louisville (SDF)

Incheon (ICN)

Taipei (TPE)

Los Angeles (LAX)

Tokyo (NRT)

Doha (DOH)

15 Description: Ranked by total cargo volume (inbound and outbound), Hong Kong International was the world's largest air cargo hub, with over 4.2 million metric tons of cargo handled in 2022, a decrease of almost 1 million tons compared to the previous year.
Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019 to 2022; * Anchorage: includes transit freight The values for 2014 through 2018 were taken from previous editions. The values have been rounded. All figures were preliminary at the time they were published. Read more
Source(s): ACI
 FedEx Express' freight revenue from FY 2013 to FY 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)
Freight revenue generated by FedEx Express 2013-2023

10,000

9,000 8,711
8,182
Total freight revenue in million U.S. dollars

8,000 7,532 7,642

7,186 7,113
7,000 6,457

6,000

5,000 4,516
4,154 4,068 3,991
4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

16 Description: This statistic represents freight revenue generated by FedEx Express from the fiscal year of 2013 through the fiscal year of 2023. In the fiscal year of 2023, the FedEx Corporation generated approximately 7.6 billion U.S. dollars in freight revenue from
its Express segment. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; FY 2013 to FY 2023
Source(s): FedEx
 The amount of cargo carried by the Emirates Group from the financial year
2013/14 to 2022/23 (in 1,000 metric tons)
Emirates Group's amount of cargo carried FY 2013/14-2022/23

2,750
2,659
2,650 2,623
2,577
2,509
Cargo amount in thousand metric tons

2,550

2,450 2,389
2,377
2,350
2,250
2,250
2,139
2,150

2,050

1,950
1,873
1,849
1,850

1,750
FY 2013/14 FY 2014/15 FY 2015/16 FY 2016/17 FY 2017/18 FY 2018/19 FY 2019/20 FY 2020/21 FY 2021/22 FY 2022/23

17 Description: In the fiscal year 2022/23, the amount of cargo carried by Emirates Group amounted to nearly 1.85 million metric tons, a decrease from about 2.14 million tons in the previous year. In comparison, the amount of cargo carried by the group in the fiscal
year 2013/14 was about 2.25 million metric tons. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; FY 2013/14 to FY 2022/23
Source(s): Emirates
 Amount of cargo carried by Qatar Airways from financial year 2017 to 2022 (in
1,000 metric tons)
Qatar Airways' amount of cargo carried FY 2017-2022

3,150

3,000.96
Amount of carried cargo in thousand metric tons

2,950

2,727.99
2,750
2,608.17
2,528.14
2,550

2,337.51
2,350

2,150
2,053.36

1,950
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

18 Description: In the financial year 2022, the amount of cargo carried by Qatar Airways exceeded three million metric tons, up from about 2.7 million metric tons in the previous year. The number of passengers carried by Qatar Airways amounted to 18.5 million
passengers in that year. Read more
Note(s): MENA; FY 2017 to 2022
Source(s): Qatar Airways
 DHL's airfreight revenue worldwide from 2014 to 2021, by quarter (in million euros)
Quarterly airfreight revenue of DHL 2014-2021

3,000

2,500
Airfreight revenue in billion euros

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

19 Description: During the fourth quarter of 2021, DHL generated over 2.8 billion euros from airfreight handlings globally. Compared to the quarterly values since 2014, this is the highest volume of airfreight revenue generated by DHL. In the second quarter of 2020,
DHL handled the lowest volume of airfreight since 2014, with 686,000 metric tons of airfreight. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; Q1 2014 to Q4 2021
Source(s): DHL Group
CHAPTER 04

Outlook
 Forecast of air cargo traffic growth from 2020 to 2039, by type and scenario
Air cargo traffic growth by type and scenario 2020-2039

High Base Low

5.0%
4.6% 4.5%
4.5%
4.1% 4%
4.0%
3.4% 3.4%
Forecasted growth rate

3.5%

3.0%

2.5% 2.2%
2.0% 1.7%
1.5%
1.1%
1.0%

0.5%

0.0%
Air mail Air freight Air cargo

Scenario

21 Description: Global air cargo traffic is forecasted to grow at a four percent per year from 2020 through to 2039. In this same period, global air mail and air freight traffic are expected to increase by 1.7 and 4.1 percent respectively. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019
Source(s): Boeing
 Forecast of air cargo growth rates from 2020 to 2039, by region
Air cargo growth rates by region 2020-2039

7%
5.8%
6%
4.9%
5% 4.3% 4.3% 4.4%
4% 4.1%
4% 3.3%
Forecasted growth rate

3% 2.4% 2.6% 2.6%

2.3% 2.3%
2%
1%
0%
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Region

22 Description: The global air cargo industry is forecasted to grow at a four percent per year from 2020 through to 2039. The domestic China region is expected to have the highest growth rate at 5.8 percent. They are followed by the Intra-East Asia and Oceania region
with an expected growth of 4.9 percent. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019
Source(s): Boeing
 Freight-ton kilometers share of air cargo traffic worldwide in 2019, by type
Global air cargo traffic: belly cargo vs main cargo FTKs 2019

Belly cargo 47% Dedicated freighters

53%

23 Description: This statistic represents the share of cargo traffic carried on the main deck of an aircraft and air cargo traffic transported on scheduled passenger flights as a share of worldwide air cargo traffic in 2019. Air freight transported on dedicated freighters
accounted for 53 percent of freight-ton kilometers in 2019. The practice of airlines transporting air freight on scheduled passenger flights is known as belly cargo. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019
Source(s): JADC
 Size of the air cargo fleet by region in 2019 and 2040 (in units)
Size of air freighter fleet globally by region 2019-2040

Number of air freighters

2019 2039*

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400

1,195
North America
940
1,160
Asia-Pacific
350
500
Europe
310
155
Russia and Central Asia
160
150
Middle East
80
145
Latin America
110
130
Africa
60

24 Description: This statistic illustrates the size of air freighter fleets worldwide in 2019 and gives a projection for 2040, by region. The Asia-Pacific air freighter fleet will more than triple from 350 aircraft in 2019 to 1,1600 units in 2040, reflecting the growing role of
emerging markets. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019; * Forecast. Read more
Source(s): Boeing
 Number of new jet deliveries and converted air freighters from 2020 to 2039, by
region
New-build and converted air freighters by region 2020-2039

1,000
915
900
795
800

700
Number of airplanes

600

500
435
400

300
210
200

100 75

0
Latin America Middle East and Africa Europe, Russia and Central North America Asia-Pacific
Asia

25 Description: The statistic illustrates the distribution of new-build and converted air freighters from 2020 to 2039, with a breakdown by region or country. By 2039, the air cargo market is expected to expand, with Asia-Pacific and North America dominating the
market, with 915 freighters and 795 freighters respectively. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2019
Source(s): Boeing
 Sources

ACI
Air Cargo News
Airfinance Journal (Airline Analyst)
Armstrong & Associates
Baltic Exchange
Boeing
DHL Group
Emirates
FedEx
IATA
IBISWorld
ICAO
JADC
Qatar Airways
Refinitiv
S&P Global Platts
TAC Index
TransForce Group
Transport Topics

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