The Freight 50: 2019’s top cargo carriers in the calm before the storm

With a few exceptions, 2019 was overall an underwhelming, although steady, year for the world’s top 50 cargo carriers. Many air cargo carriers were negatively impacted by the trade war between the United States and China. At the same time, other airlines were realizing the benefits of time and money invested in cargo operations. E-commerce's growing impact on the industry similarly benefited many of the carriers in the most recent ranking. Looking back at 2019’s ranking can make one nostalgic. Despite the underwhelming traffic figures reported by many carriers, the 2019 ranking shows that year-over-year comparisons can tell us something about how management strategies and fleet choices are paying off — or not. While many months still remain in 2020, it’s unlikely next year’s Freight 50 ranking will reflect anything but the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, not only on aviation but on the global economy and virtually every facet of our lives during this unusual year. With that in mind, the structure of this year’s Freight 50 feature will also be a bit unusual. As always, Air Cargo World has published a chart with the 2019 rankings. Unlike last year’s chart in our digital magazine, this year’s chart is fully sortable, allowing you to view carrier information by 2019 ranking, 2018 ranking, international, domestic and total freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), and YoY change by both FTKs and percentage. Finally, following the publication of this feature and the accompanying ranking, Air Cargo World will feature additional in-depth reporting on the top 50 carriers throughout the month of August, giving more insight into what these rankings may mean for 2020 performance. But first, the big changes among the top 50 carriers for 2019. The 2019 shuffle The top five carriers all continued to feature among the top five for 2019, but all but the very top shuffled their positions in the rankings. Despite a small YoY drop in FTKs, FedEx remained at No. 1 by a wide margin. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways nabbed the No. 2 spot, up from No. 3 last year. UPS and the Atlas group of airlines likewise rose one spot from last year, to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. The No. 2 carrier in the 2018 ranking was Emirates, which fell into the No. 5 spot with a 7.8% YoY decline in FTKs. Among the top 10 carriers for 2019, only Korean Air reported a larger YoY decline in traffic. Notable improvements on the list include Turkish Airlines, which reported a 15.3% YoY traffic increase in 2019 and rose from the No. 15 spot for 2018 to No. 11 for 2019. Aerologic, with a 27.8% YoY increase, climbed to No. 24 from its No. 28 spot for 2018 traffic. Ethiopian Airlines also reported a substantial growth of 16.0% and rose to No. 30 from No. 33. Many other airlines saw their rankings and traffic change for the negative, including Virgin Atlantic, which was down 18.9%; American Airlines, down 14.4%; Silk Way Group, down 14.2%; and Thai Airways International, down 14.0. View the complete ranking through the link below, and check back with Air Cargo World in August for more details on how these carriers and others on the list performed in 2019, and how 2020 has changed some of their fortunes for the better, or for the worse. https://aircargoworld.com/freight-50/

The Freight 50: 2019’s top cargo carriers in the calm before the storm

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