U.S. express traffic slows
Air Cargo Management Group reports that revenues for the U.S. domestic air freight and express industry totaled USD 32.81 billion in 2007, a slim 1.0 pct increase over 2006, but nonetheless a new record for the industry. “Gains in 2007 must have come from fuel surcharges, as total market revenue-ton-mile (RTM) traffic and the daily shipment counts of the express carriers both declined,” noted Robert Dahl, ACMG Proj¬ect Director.
Traffic volume for the industry was 14.924 billion RTMs, down 1.5 pct year-over-year, and the number of shipments moving through the major express networks was 6.644 million per day, down 1.8 pct versus 2006. “The industry remains at or near 1999 levels based on both these performance metrics; in other words, this industry has gone through eight years with no net growth,” Dahl said. “Furthermore, part-year data for 2008 gives little hope of any major increase this year. In fact, there are numerous challenges facing the industry, including re¬cord-high fuel prices, a weak U.S. economy and a perceived shift of air shipments to trucks, which could lead to further traffic declines in 2008 and 2009.”
ACMG finds that the US domestic air freight and express industry continues to undergo significant structural changes in both the express and general freight sectors. The players in the express side remain unchanged, consisting of FedEx, UPS, DHL and BAX Global; however, DHL is changing its business model in the domestic U.S. market to eliminate its own contracted air network, instead buying space starting this year from UPS to move its shipments on an airport-to-airport basis within North America. When the DHL shift to UPS is complete in 2009, there will be just three express freighter networks operating within the U.S. (UPS, FedEx and BAX/Schenker), down from eight in the mid-1990s.
Air Cargo Management Group reports that revenues for the U.S. domestic air freight and express industry totaled USD 32.81 billion in 2007, a slim 1.0 pct increase over 2006, but nonetheless a new record for the industry. “Gains in 2007 must have come from fuel surcharges, as total market revenue-ton-mile (RTM) traffic and the daily shipment counts of the express carriers both declined,” noted Robert Dahl, ACMG Project Director.
Traffic volume for the industry was 14.924 billion RTMs, down 1.5 pct year-over-year, and the number of shipments moving through the major express networks was 6.644 million per day, down 1.8 pct versus 2006. “The industry remains at or near 1999 levels based on both these performance metrics; in other words, this industry has gone through eight years with no net growth,” Dahl said. “Furthermore, part-year data for 2008 gives little hope of any major increase this year. In fact, there are numerous challenges facing the industry, including re¬cord-high fuel prices, a weak U.S. economy and a perceived shift of air shipments to trucks, which could lead to further traffic declines in 2008 and 2009.”
ACMG finds that the US domestic air freight and express industry continues to undergo significant structural changes in both the express and general freight sectors. The players in the express side remain unchanged, consisting of FedEx, UPS, DHL and BAX Global; however, DHL is changing its business model in the domestic U.S. market to eliminate its own contracted air network, instead buying space starting this year from UPS to move its shipments on an airport-to-airport basis within North America. When the DHL shift to UPS is complete in 2009, there will be just three express freighter networks operating within the U.S. (UPS, FedEx and BAX/Schenker), down from eight in the mid-1990s.
