A Brief History of Air Cargo Traffic in North America In the 21st Century

Air cargo is any property, goods, cargo, products, etc., that is carried or plans to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo consists of air freight, air express, and airmail. The way we fly goods has come a long way since the days the Wright brothers started flying more than 100 years ago.

Just last year, the revenue of cargo airlines came up to roughly $50.7 billion worldwide. We have come quite a long way since the days of relying on the Pony Express to ship our goods. As of 2016, cargo traffic has increased 1.6% on every year-on-year in North America.

The growth is actually quite impressive. If you think about how much gets shipped around the world by aircraft every single day, you wouldn’t think it could increase any more. Yet, it still does. From 2016 to 2035, air traffic is projected to grow by 4.5% every year, estimating the need for 33,333 new passengers and freighter aircrafts, valued at more than $5.2 trillion.

Not only are aircrafts used to transport goods, but they are used to transport people too. Every days, thousands of people get on an airplane to fly for business, leisure, and other purposes. This commercial aerospace sector in America generate $303.5 billion in sales in 2016 alone.

With all of those people and goods transported through the air every day, there needs to be plenty of employees working in this industry. In fact, the United States aerospace industry employs more than 500,000 workers in science and engineering jobs. This industry also employs over 700,000 works in other fields related to the industry.

There are so many facets that go into the aerospace industry that require the expertise of all those employees. From piecing the aircrafts together piece by piece to ensuring every detail is accurately and safely performed from beginning to end, the aerospace logistics industry makes sure that everything runs properly.

Without the hard-working, dedicated employees in this industry, we would not have the smooth-sailing logistics that so many individuals and businesses rely on every day.