Express firms continue to ramp up their focus on air cargo

The expansion of express operators into the airfreight market has been ongoing for a number of years, but this year’s market conditions have led companies in the sector to increase their focus on the air cargo market.

In its third-quarter results, FedEx chief executive Raj Subramaniam confirmed that the company was increasing its focus on air cargo volumes.

As a result, international airfreight daily freight pounds were up 15% year on year, the company said.

Subramaniam highlighted a 15-fold increase in aircraft engine moves and added that the company had won new airfreight business with an AI data centre customer after a more than 40-year largely parcel-centric relationship.

“Our expanding capabilities across key verticals are enabling us to address more of our customers’ logistics needs and unlock airfreight demand from traditionally parcel-centric customers,” he said.

The company had already been making moves in this direction and last year, according to FreightWaves, moved a freighter from its express network to its air cargo network targeting high-value shipments such as pharmaceuticals and automotive.

Following the release of its latest results, FedEx also announced the launch of a new product to cater for the transport of aircraft engines and aerospace components.

It is not just FedEx that is trying to muscle in on more of the air cargo market. At the start of the year, DHL Express launched a Heavy Weight Express (HWX) service that can transport shipments of up to 1,000 kg per piece and 3,000 kg per shipment.

Meanwhile, when announcing its third-quarter results, DHL said that its Express division had also handled more airfreight shipments, which it said contributed around an extra €100m to the division’s earnings during the quarter.

Time Definite International’s daily shipment weight was up 9.7% year on year in part due to the Express division targeting heavier cargo.

There are several reasons for the growth of air cargo shipments in the express sector.

For one, DHL said that capacity constraints in the airfreight market have resulted in companies looking to utilise express.

Also, when speaking to Air Cargo News earlier in the year, Mike Parra, the chief executive of DHL Express for Europe, said that the current geopolitical unpredictability and supply chain volatility had accelerated the trend because of the speed, certainty and uncomplicated pricing model on offer.

Parra said that the shift to express, driven by current geopolitical conditions, is not necessarily temporary, as customers quickly get used to the level of service and reliability that is offered through express.

“We are not trying to take that business away from our forwarding division, but where we have a customer that has an oil rig that is down and needs a 300kg part quickly transported, then they’ll use DHL Express,” Parra explained.

“As we target those customers and they are coming over to us, they are seeing the safety, the security, the value of tracking and, more importantly, that it will get there in time.”

FedEx made a similar point when launching its new aerospace product.

The company said that aerospace organisations are facing increasing maintenance demand, supply chain complexity, and are also under pressure to maximise fleet availability.

“The solution helps customers keep critical operations moving while reducing disruptions associated with engine transportation,” FedEx explained in a press release.

“At a time when the aerospace industry is managing extended lead times, parts shortages, and growing pressure to maintain fleet readiness, reliable transportation of critical assets has become increasingly important,” FedEx said.

Another driver has been changes in the e-commerce sector that had previously driven growth in the express sector. The removal of de minimis exemptions has seen the online sales platforms switch