According to one recent study, approximately 63.1 million metric tons of freight have traveled by plane across the globe in 2019. That number is on pace to eclipse the 63.3 million metric tons of freight that were shipped during the entirety of 2018.
All told, the volume of shipments has increased dramatically over the last 15 years - from "just" 40.9 million metric tons in 2004 to their current levels.
With demand for air freight services on an upward trend that shows little sign of slowing down, carriers across the globe are looking to expand their air fleets. These companies need fast, safe planes with ample cargo space, and Boeing is hard at work to meet their needs. The new line of Boeing freight planes has the carrying capacity necessary to serve a myriad of carriers and clients.
After a mild slowdown in October, the global air freight industry saw promising signs in November, with an 8.8 percent increase in FTK demand compared to the previous year. 2017 had featured strong air freight statistics, but many experts feared that growth was coming to an end. November’s increase suggests that the industry will continue to expand into 2018.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and this is never more true than in the air freight industry. Air carriers and the manufacturers who supply them have long struggled to serve inaccessible or underdeveloped regions. Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airship offers the flexibility and maneuverability to do just that.
The Midwest in general and Chicago, in particular, have long been crucial hubs for both domestic and international air freight but some businesses forget to consider nearby Chicago Rockford Airport (RFO) as another valuable gateway in Northern Illinois. Rockford is an important location for commerce and also is positioned just a short distance south of the Wisconsin border in addition to being just 75 miles from O'Hare International and nearer still to Chicago's busy suburbs to the Northwest and West.