Boeing, Airbus orders rise with air cargo transport boom

Boeing will build 19 of its B-767 freighter jets for United Parcel Service (UPS) as the delivery services giant ramps up capacity to meet rising demand for transporting cargo by air.

The new planes, valued at US$1.5 billion (S$2.05 billion) in total, will be delivered between 2023 and 2025.

The UPS order brings Boeing's order book for this year to 80 firm orders for new wide-body freighters and more than 80 orders for Boeing Converted Freighters, adding to a "record-breaking year" for Boeing freighter sales, the aircraft maker said on Tuesday.

Air cargo transport demand has surged this year, and is now back at the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, boosted by "goods demand recovery, accelerated e-commerce growth, supply chain disruptions and severe maritime challenges", Boeing said in its 2021 Commercial Market Outlook.

Boeing's rival Airbus has also received more freighter orders as cargo and logistics companies invest in air transport to bypass port delays, and as pressure from consumers to deliver goods as quickly as possible mounts.

Mr James Christopher, president of supply chain consultancy TMX Asia, said that "with e-commerce, consumer expectations have shifted dramatically. While they want the convenience of home delivery, they also want the speed which they are used to from shopping at traditional brick-and-mortar stores".

He added that with "the extreme delays and rise in pricing in the ocean freight market due to the backlogs at ports, more companies have shifted to air freight to maintain their supply chains".

These include Singapore Airlines (SIA), which said on Dec 15 that it would replace its fleet of Boeing 747-400F freighters with seven newly launched, more fuel-efficient Airbus A350F freighter aircraft, with options for another five.

SIA said that renewing its freighter fleet reflects the carrier's continued investment in the air cargo segment and "reinforces SIA's position as a leading global air cargo carrier".

On Monday, Airbus said it had firmed up an order for the purchase of four A350F freighter aircraft with the CMA CGM Group, bringing the shipping line's total Airbus fleet to nine aircraft.

In March, CMA CGM launched a new air freight division with four Boeing 777 aircraft. It purchased two more of the planes last month.

Maersk, the world's largest shipping line, purchased two new Boeing 777Fs last month while leasing three more 767-300 cargo planes.

It also announced the acquisition of Senator International, a global freight-forwarding company with a strong air freight business.