The importance of air freight in global trade and supply chains

There are many shipping methods available to shippers around the world right now, and each of these methods has its own characteristics and features. Here we highlight the method of air freight, and why air freight is one of the most important modes of shipping and has a significant impact on global trade and supply chains around the world.

The importance of air freight

Air freight is usually chosen by shippers when there is an urgent need to send goods in short shipping times. Air freight is also preferred when the value of the goods is high, and the volume is relatively low.

According to the IATA report, air freight is the trade facilitator that makes an effective contribution to global economic development, and it creates millions of jobs.

The global economy depends heavily on the ability of international trade practitioners to provide high-quality products at competitive prices for consumers around the world.

Also, goods are transported through the air cargo route annually by more than 6 trillion dollars, which accounts for almost 35% of World Trade in value terms.

The importance of air freight in World Trade

The air transport industry has a huge and important impact on international trade in general, it is also considered a growth enabler, and it has a significant impact on the functioning of the world economy by enhancing the efficiency of other industries across the entire spectrum of economic activity. This is also referred to as the spin-off or incentive benefits of air cargo that significantly affect global trade, those spin-offs are the following points:

Air transport helps facilitate global trade:

Air freight has made it easier for countries to participate in the global market by giving them access to their products to primary markets easily at convenient and fast times.

Air transportation also helps countries that specialize in goods and services where they have a comparative advantage to be transported easily and safely for display in all countries of the world. it also helps facilitate trade with countries that provide other goods and services.

Air cargo boosts global productivity:

Improving air freight links plays a pivotal role in helping global markets expand.as a result, companies can better exploit the economies of scale of their products as they can be smoothly transported by air freight to be sold all over the world easily and quickly. all this reduces the cost significantly, allowing companies that specialize in certain services or products that distinguish them from others to open more markets for them. air services can also introduce companies to more competition and encourage them to become more efficient in their functions and performance resulting in higher quality products and services.

Air freight improves supply chain efficiency:

A myriad of services are used through air freight which facilitates in reducing delivery times so that shipments are delivered on time, which leads to a reduction in costs and enables companies to deliver products to customers reliably and quickly.

Air freight promotes effective communication and cooperation:

Air freight helps to strengthen cooperation and communication between companies from different parts of the world, and excellent transport infrastructure encourages companies to spend more on development and research.

The general importance of air cargo

prompt shipping

We all know that air freight is chosen when the shipper requests that his goods be delivered quickly to the consignee, so air freight is one of the fastest options available to complete that task, especially when the distance between the sender and the destination to be sent to is large and the time required to carry out the transportation process is small.

confidence in air shipment dates

Air freight tops the list when we talk about the timely delivery of goods, regardless of the destination to which delivery is required, and air carriers rarely change their schedule at the last minute, except for emergencies or changes in government plans, as is the case during the "covid-19" pandemic; therefore, the shipper can rely on the delivery times for Air Freight set by the carrier or forwarder to get his cargo to the destination he desires.

easy tracking

Air freight provides the flexibility to track your cargo from the place of dispatch until it is delivered, since there is a special schedule of flight schedules, the freight forwarder can give you easy access to the route of shipments during transportation, you can be sure of the placement of your cargo.

high insurance of goods

In air freight the cargo handling points are reduced in comparison with sea and land freight, therefore the risk of loss, theft or damage of the shipped goods is reduced, also, because airports have strict safety guidelines with faster clearance processes makes air freight the safest shipping option.

send goods across continents

Air freight makes it easy to ship goods from any origin to any destination due to the large-scale presence of airports with a large network of airlines; all this in a shorter period!

low storage cost

Since air freight facilitates faster Logistics, a large amount of goods stored at the destination may not be needed, as the stock can be resupplied within 2-3 days by air freight to distinguish it by speed, therefore, air freight can help producers reduce the cost of storage at the destination