This document summarizes key characteristics of the air cargo market: 1) Asia ships more goods to Europe by air than vice versa, due to developing economies shipping to developed markets. Imbalances exist between regions. 2) Special handling items include perishables like flowers, fruits, vegetables, as well as live animal transports. 3) Humanitarian aid organizations and defense departments also utilize air cargo for timely delivery of relief supplies and support. 4) Modal choice for cargo transportation considers costs, delivery timelines, frequencies, and security risks between air, sea, and ground options.

1. Air Cargo II:
Market Characteristics
Dr Narudh Cheramakara
MAY 2016

2. Volume v. Value (IATA 2015)

3. • What do you thinks are the products
transported by air?

4. Cargo Categories (2007)
• Hi-tech products 27%
• Capital equipments 19%
• Apperel, textiles and footwear 17%
• Intermediate products 12%
• Refrigerated foods 5%

5. Asia to Europe Cargoes

6. Europe to Asia Cargoes
Why the differences?

7. Directional Imbalance
• Generally, developing world heading to the developed
world
• The imbalance is vast (i.e. Asia-EU is 75% more than
the EU-Asia)
• Generally Asia to US/EU: Apparels, Telecommunication
• US/EU to Asia: Machinery, Documents
• Latin America – US: Agricultural Products, similar case
to Africa – EU (Particularly Kenya flowers industry)
• Exercise: How to address the imbalance?

8. • Special handling items?
• What are they?

9. Special Handling Items

10. Special Handling Items: Perishables
• Large markets on the Latin America – US and
Africa – Europe
• Flowers export is a significant segment: Kenya
/ South Africa/ Ecuador/ Also Thailand (Mostly
orchids)
• Fruits/Vegs

11. Special Handling Items: Animal
Transports
• Racehorses (Middle East)
• Farm animals (For
Bleedings purposes)
• Zoo animals (Pandas,
Tigers, ETC.)
• Trans borders
transportation of animals
require complicated paper
works; permits, vet
certificates, quaranteen
etc.

12. Humanitarian Aids
• UN (World Food Programme) / UNHAS (UN
Humanitarian Air Services)
• Chartered from various operators
• Humanitarian crises (e.g. Africa)
• Natural Disasters (Bring in supplies take ppl
out)

13. Defence Support
• Civil Air Reserve Fleet (US) FEB 2016
• International Segment - Long Range
• · ABX Air
• · Air Transport International
• · American Airlines
• · Atlas Air
• · Delta Air Lines
• · Federal Express Airlines
• · Hawaiian Airlines
• · Kalitta Air Cargo
• · National Air Cargo Group dba National Airlines
• · Omni Air International
• · Polar Air Cargo
• · United Air Lines
• · United Parcel Service

14. Modal Choice
• Costs
• Delivery Time (Longer the distance, faster by
air. Short-range shipments are often faster
shipped by trucks)
• Frequencies (Higher the better)
• Security: sea-pirates v. airport heist (2013 50
million USD diamond heist at BRU)
• Quality of Service

15. BRU diamond heist

16. • https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/Docu
ments/cargo-strategy.pdf
• IATA Cargo Strategy