Colography: U.S. air exports shipments, revenue best ever in 2005

Colography: U.S. air exports shipments, revenue best ever in 2005    U.S. air exports shipments and revenue passed record levels in 2005, according to Atlanta-based cargo market consultancy company The Colography Group Inc.
   Colography reported about 92.4 million shipments in U.S. air export service in 2005, up 8 percent over 2004 and the first time shipments exceeded the 90 million annual mark.
   Air export revenue in 2005 was a record $9.5 billion, beating the $8.5 billion record set in 2004.
   “Last year was a splendid one for U.S. air exports as the vestiges of a weaker dollar, combined with resilient end-markets across the globe, created strong demand for the mode,” said Ted Scherck, Colography’s president. “Beyond the macro factors, however, the results demonstrate that air freight is an increasingly vital force in enabling global trade and supporting world-class international inventory models.”
   Colography said U.S. domestic air freight shipments topped 2.5 billion last year, slightly above the 2.45 billion shipments that moved in 2004. Revenue in the domestic market was up 5 percent to $33.5 billion from $31.9 billion in 2004.
   Some key findings in the 2005 edition of Colography’s “U.S. Domestic and Export Air Traffic and Yield Analysis By Competitor and Market Segment” report include:
   * On the U.S. air export side, the six main competitors — FedEx, UPS, U.S. Postal Service, DHL, EGL Inc. and BAX Global — controlled 76.6 percent of the shipment market during 2005.
   * Overnight shipments made up 42.2 percent of all domestic air cargo shipments in 2005, down slightly from a 42.4 percent share in 2004. Deferred, or non next-day packages, increased their share to 57.2 percent from 56.8 percent.