JUPITER SEA & AIR
SERVICES PVT. LTD, EGMORE – CHENNAI, INDIA.
E-MAIL : Robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in Mobile : +91 98407 85202
Corporate News
Letter for Saturday September 06,
2025
Today’s
Exchange Rates
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88.26 |
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/// Sea Cargo News ///
Interasia signs contract for new container vessels
Source: FedEx
2024 proved to be an outstanding year for air cargo volumes, with demand outpacing capacity as the industry benefited from disruption to ocean shipping caused by the Red Sea conflict as well as the e-commerce boom.
Global 2024 demand for the top 25 airlines, measured in cargo tonne-km (CTK) was up 9.4% year on year, according to data from the most recent IATA World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) report.
Federal Express (FedEx) retained its spot at the top of the leaderboard, although its year-on-year growth of 1.2% to 18.1bn CTK, was slight compared to the other airlines, and especially compared to others in the top 10.
The US cargo carrier saw increased demand for international export parcels, but this was offset by lower US import, domestic parcel and freight volumes. The company also saw its deal with the US Postal Service (USPS) end as the contract was transferred to UPS.
FedEx stated in its annual report: “The decline in US imports of consumer goods that started in late 2022, along with slowed global industrial production, has contributed to weakened economic conditions for the transportation industry. Consequently, this environment has led to lower freight and package volumes at FedEx Express and FedEx Freight, negatively affecting our results in 2024.”
“US domestic average daily package volumes declined 4% in 2024 as global economic factors led to reduced demand for our services,” said FedEx about its Express segment.
“These declines were partially offset by an increase in international export package volume of 4% in 2024 driven by a mix shift toward our deferred product offerings, partially offset by a global decline in international priority package volume.”
“These declines were partially offset by an increase in international export package volume of 4% in 2024 driven by a mix shift toward our deferred product offerings, partially offset by a global decline in international priority package volume.”
FedEx said reduced consumer spending due to inflation and high interest rates, decreased manufacturing of goods and changing supply chains influenced by the uptake of near-shoring and reshoring meant it transported fewer goods, over shorter distances.
It added: “Further, the scale of our operations and our relatively high fixed-cost structure, particularly with respect to our air network, make it difficult to quickly adjust to match shifting volume levels.”
During the year, FedEx redesigned its Tricolor global air network to improve density and asset utilisation as it looked to increase its global airfreight market share.
The airline, which had announced its DRIVE cost-cutting scheme the previous year, also reduced its air network costs by network rationalisation, reduction of flight hours and reduction of staff in Europe.
Additionally, it decreased its US domestic flight hours by nearly 25% following the end of its US postal service contract, which ended in September 2024.
During the year, FedEx continued to remove older freighters from its fleet, focusing on a mix of widebody and small, regional aircraft.
As of 7 June 2024, the FedEx Express global air network included a fleet of 698 aircraft, including 692 owned aircraft and six leased aircraft. This is compared to 700 aircraft a year earlier.
FedEx had a total of 138 Boeing 767Fs, up 10 year on year; 92 Boeing 757-200Fs, down 23 year on year; 57 Boeing 777Fs, up 4 year on year; 65 Airbus A300-600Fs; 37 Boeing MD11s, down 9; 57 ATRs, up 7; and 252 Cessnas, up 9.
It retired from service 22 Boeing 757-200Fs and nine MD-11Fs. It plans to retire its entire MD-11 fleet by the end of 2028.
FedEx is scheduled to take delivery of two 777Fs, 14 767Fs, 10 ATR-72 600Fs, and 31 Cessna 408 aircraft by the end of 2026.
Qatar keeps second place
Qatar Airways kept second place in the top 25 rankings with a 5.6% rise to 15.2bn CTK.
Volumes during the 2023/24 reporting year, ending 31 March 2024, had increased as the airline reintroduced belly capacity after the pandemic.
The airline’s 2024/25 fiscal year report for the period 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025 said that Qatar Airways Cargo “transported over 1.5m tonnes”.
Growth in the cargo business was supported by network and fleet expansion.
Qatar also revised its freighter strategy to become more responsive to market changes by moving freighters to routes where demand is high.
During its 2024 fiscal year, new freighter services were added to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE, Vienna, Austria, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and London Heathrow, UK.
In Asia, frequencies were added to Hong Kong and China. The cargo carrier also operated a total of 2019 charters.
There was a strong focus on partnerships, including with Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary MASkargo, e-commerce logistics firm Cainiao, Japan Airlines Cargo, Qatar Postal Services Company (Qatar Post) and MotoGP, for which Qatar Airways Cargo is the Official Cargo Airline.
Source: Qatar Cargo
The airline also launched its 5,260 sq m Animal Centre at the Doha hub to boost animal handling capacity.
Qatar Airways Cargo had 28 777-200 freighters at the end of the calendar year, one more than in 2023.
The carrier exited Boeing 747 freighter operations during the year, while 34 Boeing 777-8Fs are on order, with options for 16 more.
UPS in third place
United Parcel Service (UPS) achieved growth of 6% to 15.1bn, retaining its third-place position from 2023 when it had slipped down one spot.
UPS, whose US Domestic Package and International Package segments are together referred to as the company’s global small package operations, said in its 2024 annual report: “We experienced volume and revenue growth in our global small package operations during the year, primarily the result of a strong second half of 2024.
“Within our US Domestic Package operations, we captured growth through additional e-commerce customers and SMBs that leveraged our Digital Access Program. In our International Package operations, we experienced average daily volume growth in our export products, which drove a year-over-year revenue increase.”
UPS reported that the International Package segment faced challenging macroeconomic conditions, particularly in Europe.
However, the decrease in domestic volumes within the segment was largely offset by growth in international export products.
“Domestic volume declines were largest in Europe, partially offset by growth in the Americas,” said UPS of the International Package segment.
“Volume declines in Europe were primarily driven by challenging economic conditions, which began to moderate during the year."
“Volume declines in Europe were primarily driven by challenging economic conditions, which began to moderate during the year.
“Volume growth in the Americas was largely driven by the Canadian retail sector during the fourth quarter as a result of temporary supply chain disruptions, which ended in December 2024.”
UPS added: “Export volume increased for the year, driven by continued growth on the Americas and Asia to US trade lanes and US to Americas trade lanes. Improvements in the Americas to US trade lanes were driven by growth in the retail sector, while the Asia to US trade lanes growth was driven by increased SMB volume in retail, high tech and manufacturing sectors.”
It further stated: “By export product, growth in our non-premium products more than offset a slight decline in our premium offerings.”
US Domestic Package volume growth was helped by e-commerce, the SurePost product and more small-medium businesses using the company’s Digital Access Program, said UPS in its annual report.
Photo: UPS
Volumes were also boosted by UPS beginning a contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS) as its primary air cargo provider within the US.
However, growth was partially offset by the impact of planned volume reductions with its largest customer, Amazon, with whom UPS has been slowly reducing volumes since 2022, and plans to lower volumes by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.
Referencing this agreement, UPS said that it is deliberately aiming to “increase our focus on growing higher yielding volume”.
As of 31 December 2024, UPS owned and/or operated a total of 291 aircraft, three down year on year (it also has access to a further 243 aircraft operated by others). The carrier’s fleet data shows it is investing in 767Fs.
The fleet included 82 767-300Fs, up four on last year with another 25 on order; plus six 767-300BCFs and four 767-300BDSFs - as in 2023.
There were also 30 Boeing 747-8Fs – up two from last year, as well as 75 757-200Fs, 11 747-400Fs, two 747-400BCFs and 52 Airbus A300-600Fs - the same as in 2023.
Like FedEx, UPS had begun removing MD-11s from its fleet, with 29 at the end of the year, nine down from 2023.
UPS said there were also 243 aircraft on charters and leases operated by others, 26 down from 2023.
Climbers and decliners
Ethiopian Airlines moved up three places in the rankings, aided by the expansion of its network to include Casablanca, Morocco, as well as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in India.
The Addis Ababa-headquartered airline also opened a new e-commerce facility at Bole International Airport, while at the end of the year, it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xiamen Iport Group and a memorandum of understanding with China Henan Aviation Group to help it grow its business in China.
By year-end, the airline’s freighter fleet included 10 777Fs, four 737-800Fs, plus four 767-300Fs, two of which were delivered at the end of 2024.
LATAM Airlines Group also moved up four places. Perishables, pharma, automotive and electronics helped the Santiago, Chile-headquartered Group increase volumes as it built capacity on the Latin America-Europe trade lane.
LATAM Cargo introduced new freighter services between Brussels, Belgium and Montevideo, Uruguay; as well as Florianópolis, Brazil, Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Brussels, Belgium.
It also increased frequencies between Ecuador and Brussels, onwards to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile; between Miami, US and São José dos Campos, Brazil; and Amsterdam to South America. Frequencies were also increased to Curitiba, Brazil.
By the end of the year, the airline had 21 freighters, including 767-300Fs and 767-300P2Fs, one of which was delivered in 2024.
US cargo airline Atlas Air had the biggest increase in volumes, although it didn’t move from fifth place.
During 2024, the carrier supported business growth with a diverse customer base and added two 777Fs, four 747-400Fs, four 747-8F, and one 767-300P2F.
“The widebody market is where we continue to see the strongest demand from our customers, as well as expanding opportunities in global e-commerce,” said Atlas Air.
“The widebody market is where we continue to see the strongest demand from our customers, as well as expanding opportunities in global e-commerce,” said the airline in a press release last year.
Photo: Atlas Air
New entrants to the list included British Airways, Etihad and China Eastern Airlines.
Avianca dropped out of the list after only making it into the chart for the first time in 2023.
Polar Air Cargo, which joint venture partners Atlas Air Worldwide and DHL closed earlier this year, also lost its place on the list.
Asiana, whose cargo business was recently acquired by Air Incheon, now AirZeta, also lost its place on the list.
Need for speed
Overall air cargo demand for airlines - including those outside the top 25 - grew 11.3% in 2024, according to IATA.
Looking at the market conditions in more detail, the strong increase in airlines’ cargo volumes was supported by favourable market conditions.
In a January 2025 press release, IATA’s director general Willie Walsh said: “Demand, up 11.3% year-on-year, was boosted by particularly strong e-commerce and various ocean shipping restrictions.”
The escalation of the Red Sea conflict that had forced ships to reroute from the Suez Canal to Africa’s Cape of Good Hope added extra transport time onto ocean shipments, leading some shippers to switch to airfreight to meet delivery timelines, while more sea-air solutions were also introduced.
E-commerce, which currently makes up 20-30% of air cargo volumes, also contributed to robust demand as consumers continued to seek out quick deliveries from Asia.
“The demand for rapid deliveries, particularly in the e-commerce sector, improved air cargo’s competitiveness against maritime shipping rates, and the Red Sea crisis forced businesses to enhance inventory levels,” said IATA in its 2025 annual review.
“As a result, the need for quick restocking brought air transportation to the fore, emphasising its crucial role in modern, time-sensitive logistics.”
The industry also saw an increase in belly capacity as carriers, especially in Asia, continued to rebuild their post-pandemic fleets and networks.
Meanwhile, there were continued airspace restrictions over Russia and Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict that limited capacity on some long-haul routes to Asia and meant longer flights costing more in fuel. Airlines continued to reduce capacity, suspend and cancel routes throughout the year.
Demand outpaced capacity, which was up 7.4%, IATA’s WATS report showed.
Nonetheless, belly volumes grew 23.1% and freighter volumes were up 5.6%.
Regional gains
The increase in air cargo demand spanned all regions, stated IATA’s annual review. Asia Pacific surpassed growth in all other regions with a 14.6% increase in demand.
Network and flight frequencies had continued to be rolled out in the region during the year as recovery from the Covid pandemic had been slower, due to harsher restrictions.
The continued rise in e-commerce demand in the US and Europe also served to accelerate demand out of Asia Pacific.
Closely following Asia Pacific was the Middle East with a 13% increase and Latin America with a 12.8% increase.
Europe had an 11.2% increase and Africa 8.5%. Meanwhile North America grew the least with a 6.5% rise.
This was partly due to economic constraints, but also because post-pandemic demand recovery had been ahead of other regions that were still benefiting from additional volumes as they added belly capacity.
I hope you have
enjoyed reading the above news letter.
Robert Sands
Joint Managing Director
Jupiter Sea & Air Services Pvt Ltd
Casa Blanca, 3rd Floor
11, Casa Major Road, Egmore
Chennai – 600 008. India.
GST Number : 33AAACJ2686E1ZS.
Tel : + 91 44 2819 0171 / 3734 / 4041
Fax : + 91 44 2819 0735
Mobile : + 91 98407 85202
E-mail : robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in
Website : www.jupiterseaair.com 1Branches : Chennai, Bangalore,
Mumbai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Tuticorin.
Associate Offices : New Delhi, Kolkatta, Cochin &
Hyderabad.
Thanks to : Container News, Indian Seatrade, Cargo Forwarder Global & Air Cargo News.
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