The Freight 50: 2021 proves a record year for carriers

If 2020 was a year of surging peaks and dismal valleys for most cargo carriers, 2021 was a year of sustained high peaks with fewer extreme COVID-19-induced lows. Instead, 2021 was characterized by accelerated recovery and remarkable growth for the airfreight industry — demand boomed, passenger bellyhold capacity returned and air cargo became recognized around the world as an essential element of the global supply chain. And, of course, traffic soared like never before. Skyrocketing demand for goods led to stunted inventories, and air cargo overtook ocean shipping as businesses’ best choice for rapid restocking. In fact, global air cargo transport grew faster than the overall goods trade in 2021, according to a June report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). An inventory restocking cycle was set in motion, which tapered off with the conclusion of 2021’s peak season . Meanwhile, the passenger-to-freighter conversion aircraft, or “preighter,” continued to provide a lifeline for carriers dealing with diminished international passenger traffic and a lack in belly capacity. The conversions delivered the industry record-high air cargo load factors and yield in mid-2021, according to IATA. For the third year in a row, Air Cargo World is pleased to provide the Freight 50, a fully sortable chart of the top 50 carriers ranked based on data compiled from the latest World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) report from IATA. The sort options allow you to view carrier information by 2021, 2020 and 2019 ranking, international, domestic and total cargo tonne kilometers (CTKs), and year-over-year change by both CTKs and percentage. As with last year’s Freight 50 , 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 November, giving more insight into how they remained resilient through global challenges and the strategies they used to reach record traffic. Here is an overview of the major highs and lows for 2021’s top cargo carriers. Cargo on the global stage Many carriers saw dramatic increases in cargo traffic in 2021, driven by strong demand for e-commerce , temperature-sensitive vaccines and personal protective equipment (PPE). FedEx was once again the leader in traffic , measured in FTKs, by a wide margin with 20.6 billion, a comparatively modest 4% year-over-year increase. Moving up from third place last year to second place, Qatar Airways grew traffic by 17.2% YoY to 16.1 billion FTKs. The resumption of passenger service and accompanying bellyhold capacity, along with the arrival of three new B777 freighters in early 2021, helped spur traffic for the carrier. Losing second place to Qatar and taking this year’s third place, UPS also saw a YoY increase in traffic, rising 8% to 15.5 billion FTKs. Like other express carriers, UPS grew traffic despite labor shortages and rising inflation toward the end of 2021. Of all the carriers in the 2021 Freight 50, Air Canada saw the greatest increase in traffic, with a 92% YoY increase for the year to 2.1 billion FTKs. Canada’s overall airfreight market also saw massive gains in 2021, with 2.7 billion freight tonne-kilometers moved and $1.52 billion in revenue — a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% since 2016. “2021 is the year of cargo and logistics on the global stage,” Matthieu Casey, managing director of commercial for Air Canada, told Air Cargo World . The year saw the strengthening of the carrier’s cargo-only flights as it utilized temporarily converted preighters the carrier affectionately dubbed “charlies,” he noted. “We focused on flying a robust and well-balanced schedule rather than focus on charters, which provided stability and long-term capacity to our customers and the industry,” Casey said. Charter flights helped grow essential cargo markets that had been stripped of capacity during the pandemic, as well as bring in revenue as Air Canada rebuilt its passenger network and capacity returned to global markets, he said. In fact, revenue skyrocketed in 2021 , rising 63% YoY to $1.4 billion Canadian dollars (US $1.04 billion), an all-time high for the carrier. By the end of the year, Air Canada received and put into operation its first dedicated freighter , a 767-300F. The successful launch led to the ordering of 11 more freighters, which will be delivered over the next couple of years, Casey added. All Nippon Airways (ANA) also saw one of the steepest jumps in traffic among carriers in 2021, with a 56.9% YoY increase in FTKs to nearly 5.1 billion. The cargo driving growth during the period included semiconductors and other automobile parts, as well as soaring in-demand e-commerce shipments. ANA also expanded the types of cargo it handled as demand surged, adding vaccines and even racehorses to its list of shipments, a spokesperson told Air Cargo World . “As logistics demand increased with the growth of the stay-at-home economy and the resumption of industry in various countries — along with port congestion — we made the maximum use of freighters and proactively set up cargo-only passenger flights to supply space, which also contributed to a significant increase in transport volume,” the spokesperson said. Other notable improvements on this year’s list include Air France-KLM Cargo, which saw its traffic rise 68.2% YoY, contributing to higher revenues in 2021. Meanwhile, American Airlines’ traffic increased 50.5% YoY, while Turkish Airlines saw its traffic grow 32.2% YoY. Not every carrier fared as well, with some seeing substantially reduced traffic in 2021. Notably, some Asian carriers saw less traffic in 2021 than 2020 due to continued COVID-19 lockdowns in China . China Eastern Airlines saw a 30% drop in traffic, while Nippon Cargo Airlines saw an 11% drop and Asiana Airlines saw a 2.5% slide. Explore the complete ranking through the link below. https://aircargoworld.com/freight-50-for-2022/

The Freight 50: 2021 proves a record year for carriers

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