Cargo takes to the skies
By Staff -- Purchasing, 4/9/1998 6:00:00 AM
Transportation buyers are bully about air freight services. Air cargo traffic climbed more than 10% last year, despite economic turmoil in Asia. And increased shipments of lighter, high-tech items should bolster demand for such services in 1998.
The most recent surge in air cargo growth can be pinned on a jump in air freight traffic, which was up 11% over 1996, according to the Air Transport Association (ATA). Air-mail traffic, which also is included in overall air cargo figures, increased a respectable 4.7% in 1997, despite waning demand for such services toward year-end.
ATA Spokesperson Diana Cronan says the uptick in air cargo traffic is merely a reflection of a strong domestic economy. However, Lee Hibbets, research director for the Seattle-based Air Cargo Management Group, attributes the popularity of air freight services to the increased use of lightweight materials and electronic components in today's products.
"The value-to-weight ratio of these items is extremely high and the life cycle of these products is extremely short," says Hibbets. Because of this, [such products] don't fit well into rail cars and ocean containers."
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