Supply chain issues resulting from the COVID pandemic are leading some of the world's biggest shipping line companies to buy their own fleets of cargo planes.
Although air cargo is still prohibitive for some manufacturers and retailers due to its higher cost, demand has nonetheless surged during the past year while port backlogs dragged on. Dozens of ships continue to wait outside major port cities such as Los Angeles, Antwerp, Tianjin and Ningbo. Ships are often forced to wait weeks to load or unload their cargo.