Less Is More (Money) For Air Cargo Traffic

June 13, 2002 10:00 AM, EDT

Trucks haul the vast majority of freight by weight, but the expensive cargo often takes to the air.

The amount of cargo in tons carried by air is tiny compared to the amount that moves on the roads. In 2001, trucks hauled 8.9 billion tons, or 67.4% of U.S. freight, while airplanes carried just 18 million tons, or 0.1%.

In terms of value, however, air carriers have a much bigger slice of the pie, because the goods that do move by air tend to be high in monetary value, said Robert Dahl, project director of the Air Cargo Management Group, a Seattle aviation and airfreight consulting firm.

For the full story, see the June 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.