Air freight is a fundamental mode of modern logistics development. Air freight has two characteristics. One is the high value of aviation logistics. Global air freight accounts for over one-third of the global commodity trade value with 1% of the cargo volume. But neither of these proportions has been achieved for China's air cargo. The development of express delivery business has led to the prosperity of air freight. However, the rapid growth of China's express delivery business has not brought prosperity to China's air freight industry.

The rapidly growing express delivery industry in China

On May 8, the State Post Bureau released the 2020 China Express Business Development Index. Under the pandemic, the Chinese express delivery market has maintained a steady development momentum, with continuous expansion of market size, optimization of market structure, steady improvement of basic capabilities, in-depth promotion of technological innovation, and significant achievements in high-quality development of the industry. In 2020, the national express delivery business volume completed 83.36 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 31.2%, and the annual business growth was nearly 20 billion pieces, both of which reached historical highs. The express delivery business volume has consistently ranked first in the world for 7 consecutive years, accounting for over 60% of the global total. The daily average processing volume of express delivery enterprises exceeded 230 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 35.3%; The maximum daily processing capacity reached 680 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%. Under the adverse impact of the COVID-19, industry growth far exceeded expectations, providing important support for macroeconomic recovery. The annual revenue of express delivery business reached 879.54 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%.

From 2010 to 2020, the annual average compound growth rate of China's express delivery business volume was 42.6%, and the annual average compound growth rate of China's express delivery business revenue was 31.4%. China's express delivery business accounts for 60% of the global volume, more than twice that of the United States. But China's air cargo volume is less than half that of the United States. The American express delivery business has achieved success in American air freight, and the development of Chinese express delivery business seems to be not closely related to the development of Chinese air freight.

China's Air Cargo Industry with Smooth Development

In 2020, global air cargo was much less affected by the epidemic than air passenger transport. In 2020, the global air freight turnover (CTK) decreased by 10.6% year-on-year, with China decreasing by 8.7% and the United States growing by 6.7% against the trend. According to the statistics of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the compound annual growth rate of China's civil aviation freight turnover from 2014 to 2019 was only 6%. The annual growth rate of China's civil aviation freight volume is only 4.6%.

The rapid growth of China's express delivery industry has not brought development opportunities to China's air freight industry. That is to say, Chinese air freight has not made more contributions to the Chinese express logistics industry.

China's Air Cargo Breakthrough: Specialized Freight Operations with Separation of Passengers and Freight

The gap between China and the United States in air freight is a systematic gap in scale, mode, and hierarchy. China's air cargo fleet is less than 200, mainly relying on passenger aircraft belly cabins, with cargo aircraft contributing only about one-third; In the United States, air cargo mainly relies on air cargo aircraft, which contribute approximately 90%. Only through the separation of characters and the diversion of passengers and cargo can a true aviation cargo network and aviation cargo hub be formed, and a true aviation three-dimensional logistics system and advantages be formed.