Air Cargo Redefines Its Business Outlook

摘要

Two years ago, FedEx Chief Executive Fred Smith predicted an industry shift from air to seaborne shipping after FedEx experienced a fourth quarter 3 percent decline in volume in its international priority air freight business. "It's very clear that the door-to-door express segment is growing, and the movement of goods on the water is growing," says Smith. At the same time there were others, such as Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Chief Executive Bill Flynn, who maintained that the air cargo industry remained on solid footing. "The rate of growth may be slowing down, but it is a rate of growth on a much larger absolute base of cargo," says Flynn, noting that shipments of perishable and time-sensitive items continued to require shipment by air. In 2014, predicting air cargo growth (or contraction) is still an uncertain exercise. "The market is constantly changing, and what could be true today could be different tomorrow, but we are seeing general improvement," says Pierre Van der Stichelle, director of business cargo for Chapman Freeborn, specialists in worldwide air charter service. "A significant issue that we have is overcapacity because there is an overabundance of available aircraft for cargo. At the same time, we are also seeing a time of general recovery in air cargo, in part because a number of airlines have restructured."