FEDEX EXPRESS, UPS AIRLINES, AND DHL AVIATION- NOTABLE MARKET PARTICIPANTS IN AIR CARGO MARKET
The air cargo industry changed considerably over the past few decades. With increasing globalization, global markets and manufacturing have developed, and shifted or relocated owing to availability of cheap labor in certain developing economies. Further, innovative logistics and supply chain concepts established on low-fuel costs as well as labor costs emerged together with trends in just-in-time production and end-point manufacturing assembly destination. Moreover, a surge in demand for expeditious shipping and control, as well as, transparency has been noticed with the decreasing new product shelf-life such as consumer electronics.
Factors such as surging e-commerce sector globally, as well as rising demand for real-time tracking of cargos, and demand for temperature sensitive cargo service is driving the air cargo market across the globe. Moreover, the government initiatives for expansion and construction of airports in developing economies is another significant factor fueling the air cargo market growth. However, the uncertainty in market growth is expected to challenge the air cargo market owing to the ongoing regulatory changes on the prospect coming from a fast-approaching Brexit finale, as well as, the constant trade war between the US and China.
With the constant increase in the demand for air cargo, several players operating in the supply chain are significantly investing to efficiently compete in the market. For instance, in 2018, Emirates SkyCargo signed a MoU with Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd., the logistics arm of the Alibaba Group to jointly enable the delivery of cross-border parcels as Cainiao looks to expand its global logistics infrastructure with Dubai as a hub. Furthermore, Cainiao also announced to invest around US$ 1.5 Bn to build a digital logistics center at Hong Kong International Airport. Moreover, Amazon is constantly building up its own Amazon Air hub network with an aim to handle more of its own shipping. The company recently expanded its Amazon Air to include 50 planes as well as several new regional hubs, which includes a US$ 1.5 Bn hub to be opened in northern Kentucky in 2021.
Many well-known as well as small local companies are present in the market to provide services to its customers. The larger firms are adopting the strategy of partnership with airport authorities or with cargo carriers to expand their footprint in different geographies. Few on the important developments from the industry are mentioned below:
| Year | News | Country |
| 2019 | Fedex entered into a deal with Bahrain airport to expand freight complex at the airport along with the operation as a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) logistics hub. | Asia Pacific |
| 2018 | ANA Cargo joined Cargo IQ to become a part of over 80 major airlines, freight forwarders, trucking companies, ground-handling agents, and IT solution providers globally. | Asia Pacific |
| 2018 | UPS has made expansions in its global express services in the high-growth markets. UPS Worldwide Express would serve 14 countries of the Americas, Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Africa (ISMEA), and Europe. Also, UPS Worldwide Express also provides later pick-up times and delivery in Southeast Asia, India, Middle East, and Africa (ISMEA) countries. | Global |
