Colography releases national survey of U.S. Expedited Cargo
The Colography Group, Inc. released findings from the 2002 edition of its National Survey of U.S. Expedited Cargo; the study reveals buying habits and attitudes shaping transportation trends in the United States.
The survey, now in its 11th year, is the largest continuous work of its kind in existence. It is built on detailed interviews with more than 30,000 transport and logistics decision-makers each year that collectively represent 75% of all U.S. domestic shipping activity. The survey canvasses 144 U.S. industry groups and five employment categories ranging from small businesses to divisions of multi-national corporations. The interviews yield data that is unmatched in depth, breadth and accuracy, enabling The Colography Group to thoroughly analyze shipping trends by mode of transport, transit times, product line and individual carrier share at the industrial source and/or geographic market levels.
Among the key findings in the 2002 national survey:
Nearly half (49.3%) of all domestic overnight air volumes in 2002 moved less than 350 miles, and 31% of all volumes moved within a 150-mile radius. By contrast, less than 20% of all overnight air volumes moved more than 1,200 miles.
The same pattern was evident for second-day air volumes, with nearly 45% of traffic moving less than 350 miles, but only 19.8% moving more than 1,200 miles.
More than 65% of all overnight air volumes in 2002 were delivered by noon the next day.
Overnight letters accounted for nearly 55% of all overnight air volume in 2002. FedEx Express, FedEx's air unit, controlled 44% of the domestic overnight air letter market; UPS was second at 30.6%.
Packages weighing between 2 and 70 pounds comprised 39.7% of second-day air traffic, with letters accounting for 36.3%.
UPS controlled 63.4% of total U.S. ground parcel volumes in 2002. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) was next with 19.0% and FedEx Ground was third with 12.1%.
UPS' share of ground parcel volume weighing two pounds or less was 45%, with USPS second with a 36.3% share.
More than 52% of all ground parcel deliveries were made within 350 miles, and 32% of all deliveries were made within 150 miles.
"The trend towards shorter delivery distances was first identified in the national survey nearly a decade ago, and the latest data continues to track this secular shift in shipping behavior," said Ted Scherck, president of The Colography Group. "Even airfreight activity, traditionally relied upon to move products over relatively long distances, is experiencing the full force of the short-haul phenomenon that first appeared on our radar screen in the early 1990s."
Scherck added that the integrity of the national survey data provides convincing evidence of the resiliency of the air letter market, as well as the continued demand for overnight air services in the face of rising competition from increasingly sophisticated ground transportation services.
"The conventional wisdom has long held that air letter traffic would be road kill for the explosive growth of electronic transmissions such as fax and e-mail," he said. "The fact that letters still comprise more than half of total overnight air volume in 2002 indicates that while the segment's days of double-digit expansion may be behind it, it is more than holding its own.
"The large percentage of goods shipped for before-noon delivery the next day underscores that the 'need for speed', or faster transit times, is more acute today than ever," Scherck added. "Our interviews tell us that buyers of overnight air services find compelling value–largely in the form of compressed delivery cycles and lower inventory costs– in having their goods in-hand as quickly as possible. They also tell us that airfreight remains the most viable option for cargo shipped more than 600 miles and requiring delivery before noon."
