Boeing has forecast that air cargo traffic will increase by an average of 4% each year up until 2043. These projections appear in Boeing's 2024 World Air Cargo Forecast (WACF), the company’s biennial overview and long-term outlook for the air cargo industry.
"As the quickest and most reliable way to move goods, air cargo's sustained growth has returned the industry to its long-term trend," said Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of commercial marketing.
Hulst added further: “There will be many drivers for continued freighter demand over the next 20 years, including expansion of emerging markets and global growth in manufacturing and e-commerce.”
Further insight from the 2024 WACF has outlined that the global air cargo fleet is forecast to rise to 3,900 airplanes by 2043, an increase of two-thirds from 2,340 freighters in 2023. Similarly, driven by demand in high-growth Asian markets, the large widebody freighter fleet will nearly double.
The American manufacturer also sights East and South Asian markets to see the highest traffic growth per year, driven by expanding economies and consumer demand, with the Asia-Pacific fleet expected to nearly triple, carriers in that region will require the most deliveries (980), followed closely by North America (955).