The Freight 50: 2022 a challenging year for carriers

While most carriers saw a significant boost in volume in 2021 due to the pandemic, 2022 was a year marked by drastic year-over-year drops in volume as the market began to normalize. “Obviously, we came out of an incredibly busy pandemic period, with air cargo carriers carrying the lion’s share of goods for medical purposes, the vaccines, etc.,” Cargo Airline Association President Lauren Beyer previously told Air Cargo Next . “It was an incredibly busy and challenging time for the industry.” But the market continues to normalize to pre-pandemic demand and capacity, resulting in the decrease in 2022 volume from the prior year. For the fourth year in a row, Air Cargo Next 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 sorting options allow carrier information to be viewed by 2022, 2021 and 2020 ranking; cargo tonne kilometers (CTKs); and year-over-year change by CTKs and percentage. FedEx maintains No. 1 spot For the fourth year running, FedEx finished in the top spot. Like for most carriers, 2022 was challenging for FedEx, which saw a 5.39% YoY reduction in CTKs to 19.5 billion in 2022 from 20.7 billion in 2021. [caption id="attachment_57065821" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo/FedEx)[/caption] “We’re proud to be ranked in the No. 1 spot again,” Scot Struminger , executive vice president and chief executive of aviation for FedEx Express, told Air Cargo Next . “Our airline transports more than 15 million packages and 20 million pounds of freight per day, allowing us to harness data and insights that help make supply chains smarter for everyone.” FedEx remains a top choice for shippers due to its “visibility, control and convenience,” he said. The carrier stayed ahead of the competition in 2022 due to its strategically built fleet and flexible network, which allowed the company to adjust its operations as necessary, according to Struminger. “Because we have a mix of fleet, we can quickly respond to changing demand by increasing or decreasing size of aircraft and frequency of flying,” he said. “With more than 700 aircraft, we have the world’s largest cargo fleet and we make adjustments to our schedule to meet that demand in times of growth and market contraction.” A key factor in staying on top is developing and implementing new technologies. “We are embedding AI and machine learning into business processes as we undergo our global transformation to increase the flexibility, efficiency and intelligence of our operations,” Struminger said, citing photo proof of delivery, estimated four-hour delivery time windows and estimated day of delivery offerings. Explore this year's Freight 50. UPS No. 2 followed by Qatar Airways United Parcel Service (UPS) took second place in 2022 and 2020, while Qatar Airways took third place both those years. Qatar Airways took second place in 2021 and 2019, while UPS took third place those years. [caption id="attachment_93716" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo/UPS)[/caption] Unlike its competitors, UPS saw a slight increase in volume in 2022, flying 15.9 billion CTKs, a 2.31% YoY increase. Qatar Airways dropped from second place after reporting an 11.4% YoY drop in CTKs, flying 14.3 billion in 2022. “We operate one of the largest airlines and one of the largest fleets of alternative fuel vehicles under a global UPS brand,” spokesperson Jim Mayer told Air Cargo Next . “We deliver packages each business day for 1.6 million shipping customers to 11.1 million delivery customers in over 200 countries and territories. In 2022, we delivered an average of 24.3 million packages per day, totaling 6.2 billion packages during the year.” Mayer attributed the carrier’s success to its strategy of “customer first, people led, innovation driven.” Through technology, UPS aims to provide a “frictionless customer experience” powered for a smart network. UPS manages each aspect of its business through one network. Qatar Airways did not respond to requests for comment from Air Cargo Next . Carriers leap forward on the list Three carriers jumped up five spots on this year’s list: AeroLogic moved to No. 11 in 2022 from No. 16 in 2021; LATAM moved to No. 25 in 2022 from No. 30 in 2021; and Thai Airways International moved to No. 44 in 2022 from No. 49 in 2021. German carrier AeroLogic, a joint venture of DHL and Lufthansa Cargo, saw a 0.91% YoY increase in volume, flying 6.3 billion CTKs in 2022. [caption id="attachment_68870" align="alignleft" width="300"] (Photo/LATAM)[/caption] Meanwhile, Chile-based LATAM saw an 8.51% YoY increase in volume, flying 3.3 billion CTKS in 2022. “ LATAM Cargo ’s growth was driven by the expansion of our freighter fleet as well as the recovery of belly operations,” LATAM Cargo Chief Executive Andres Bianchi told Air Cargo Next . “While the growth of freighter operations strengthened our presence in key perishable markets such as Colombia and Ecuador, incremental belly operations were particularly relevant on the Europe-South America markets. “Capacity growth was further supported by enhancements to our value proposition that led to improved customer preference,” he added. “In fact, our NPS [net promotor score] increased … in 2022.” NPS is a market research metric based on results from survey questions asking respondents how likely they are to recommend the company. Scores range from -100 to +100. LATAM Cargo’s 2022 score rose to 51 from 30 in 2021. During the pandemic, LATAM Cargo worked to improve its value proposition and increase productivity, Bianchi said. “Value proposition enhancements included expanding our network, rolling out improved digital tools and launching an offset program for those clients interested in reducing their CO2 emissions ,” he said. “Combined with strong support from our core customers, these enabled us to successfully deploy our three additional Boeing 767 [converted] freighters.” These upgrades were not all in response to the pandemic, however, with many starting earlier, Bianchi said. “Advanced tools on areas such as pricing, capacity management, documentation or revenue accounting have enabled us to better serve our customers while improving efficiency and reliability,” he said. “Among the most noticeable benefits are integrating with marketplaces like WebCargo and cargo.one , improved connectivity with customers and other stakeholders, and faster and better response times to customer requests.” Thai Airways International reported a 135.83% YoY increase in volume, flying 1.3 billion CTKs in 2022. This was the largest percentage increase of any carrier on the list; the second-highest increase was Avianca at 16.54% YoY. Thai Airways International did not respond to requests for comment. Some rise, some sink Not all carriers saw leaps forward — some dropped down multiple spots. Crawley, U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic Airways fell to No. 45 in 2022 from No. 39 the prior year. This was one of the largest drops in the 2022 rankings. [caption id="attachment_57065977" align="alignright" width="300"] (Photo/Virgin Atlantic Cargo)[/caption] The carrier reported a 10.07% YoY decrease in volume, flying 1.2 billion CTKs in 2022. Virgin is touting its recent tech upgrades, and told Air Cargo Next that these innovations are expected to help boost its figures moving forward. Virgin Atlantic Cargo launched a new freight booking framework in March that allows customers to tailor their shipment’s handling, speed, priority and price, according to the company. The launch follows the carrier’s upgrades of its cargo management system to Voyager 7, by software provider Accelya . Voyager 7 relies on Accelya’s FLX Cargo Platform, which digitalizes the entire cargo booking process. Other significant rank decreases were: Etihad Airways , which fell to No. 30 from No. 25 in 2021; Air Transport International , which fell to No. 37 from No. 31 in 2021; and Malaysia Airlines , which fell to No. 48 from No. 41 in 2021. View these changes and more in the complete Freight 50 ranking.

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