It's pretty much self explanatory.
Which kind of cargo do freight planes carry the most?

For example those rows of tails at Memphis or Cologne?

Foodstuffs? Smartphones? Microwaves? Clothing?

I would say by number of items (small or lighweight items may be carried on large numbers) and by tonnage.

Are there any regional differences? For example the cargo markets in Europe and the US?..

Thank you for your answers.

Regards.

B8887

Good thread, I have always wondered what % of cargoe is fresh fish?

OP I think the question should be narrowed down for a better discussion because cargo is different depending on countries. Are you talking about cargo in and out the US, Assuming you are based in the US?

It depends what type of carrier.

FedEx, UPS and DHL carry a lot of express packages. These are everything from envelopes to amazon.com purchases. These are usually boxed separately with lots of packaging. They aren’t as dense so the airplanes are volume limited.

Other freight airlines are carrying a variety of products. Flowers, fish, produce, wine, automotive parts, airplane parts, pharmaceuticals, electronics, heavy machinery, livestock, mail etc are all carried as cargo. These tend to be packaged in bulk so airplanes hit maximum payload before being limited on volume.

Different countries have different demand. Domestic US and Domestic China are dominated by ecommerce packages.

In China luxury items often enter the country by air. For example there will be 747s flying from France to China filled with expensive wine, cheese, etc.

Amsterdam is a flower hub. Lots of flowers go through that city.

A huge number of auto parts are flown from Germany.

Argentina and Alaska supply significant amounts of fish.

Central and South America supply produce to North America and Europe.

Machinery is flown to Central Asia.

Pharmaceuticals come from India and Ireland

All Airliners fans know that most freight is fresh fish.
The Japanese appetite for sushi is inexhaustible

I can tell you the specifics about one market. The North America to/from Latin America market. What leaves Latin America for North America: 30% flowers, 25% fruits and vegetables, 25% fish, 20% other. (A big chunk of the "other" is pharmaceuticals and secure documents.) What leaves North America for Latin America is nearly 100% small, high-dollar items that need extra security. Laptops, smartphones, jewelry, medical equipment, car parts, tools, expensive metals, expensive chemicals.

One thing you have to understand about cargo between two markets. It's never balanced. One side ships way more product than the other. Latin America flies in more product to North America than North America flies to South America. For example, a fully-loaded plane carrying seafood from Panama City to Miami will head back to Panama City only half full of electronics. So the cost to ship by air from U.S. to Panama is much less than the cost to ship by air from Panama to U.S. This alters the dynamics of what's cost-effective to ship.

The amount of food shipped between the two markets is staggering. What ships from South to North is perishable, so it must be done by air. What ships from north to south is not perishable. Corn, soybeans, wheat. So it gets shipped by boat, not by air, because boat is still cheaper than a air cargo company looking to fill a half-full plane.

EDIT: just remembered that different people have different definitions of "Latin America." Some say it's Central and South America. Actually, it's Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

iPhones: https://www.flexport.com/blog/the-iphon ... ht-prices/

Tough question because every market is different. Not sure who has done a study to average all cargo routes and even knows this answer.

Overall I would say flowers perishable food?

I have to submit urine samples for drug testing a few times a year... it's a long story. I'm in Wisconsin and the samples get sent to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Sometimes, the results are in my inbox with 24 hours. I've always wondered how they got there so fast. I know that FedEx does the daily sample retrievals around 1600 hours each weekday.

Air is what they carry the most of

zeke wrote:

Air is what they carry the most of

That's by volume; not by weight.

What is the most by weight?

Have a great day,

BooDog wrote:

I can tell you the specifics about one market. The North America to/from Latin America market. What leaves Latin America for North America: 30% flowers, 25% fruits and vegetables, 25% fish, 20% other. (A big chunk of the "other" is pharmaceuticals and secure documents.) What leaves North America for Latin America is nearly 100% small, high-dollar items that need extra security. Laptops, smartphones, jewelry, medical equipment, car parts, tools, expensive metals, expensive chemicals.

One thing you have to understand about cargo between two markets. It's never balanced. One side ships way more product than the other. Latin America flies in more product to North America than North America flies to South America. For example, a fully-loaded plane carrying seafood from Panama City to Miami will head back to Panama City only half full of electronics. So the cost to ship by air from U.S. to Panama is much less than the cost to ship by air from Panama to U.S. This alters the dynamics of what's cost-effective to ship.

Same thing to/from Australia. QF operates from the USA to Australia, I don't have specifics but it will be relative high value goods, then fly mainly produce & other primary products to China, then, carrying Chinese manufactured goods to USA. Flights have QF flight numbers, but are operated by Atlas[?] aircraft & crews under contract. QF have fifth freedom rights from China to the USA.

Gemuser

Is it true that passenger jets carry the most cargo total by tonnage? If you add up all the commercial pasenger planes does it outnumber deticated cargo planes?

EstherLouise wrote:

I have to submit urine samples for drug testing a few times a year... it's a long story. I'm in Wisconsin and the samples get sent to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Sometimes, the results are in my inbox with 24 hours. I've always wondered how they got there so fast. I know that FedEx does the daily sample retrievals around 1600 hours each weekday.

LabCorp, one of the biggest, actually has a small fleet of business jets to fly samples to centers of excellence for certain tests. Others, they can do closer to where the sample is taken.

Thank you for your answers so far..

Secure documents? Didn't know about that one..

For example? Contracts?..

One thing I find curious is the lack of info about this issue. We know how many millions of passengers are flown each year down to the very last one and almost nothing about this.

I still do not have a Top 3 or Top 5 for example list by tonnage or weight..

Another thing. Do cargo planes have specific configs just like passenger ones do?... For example to carry temperature controlled foodstuffs as opposed to auto parts?.

Thank you.

Regards.

B8887

To answer the question the way it was put, it's simply


FAK


stands for Freight All Kinds

and that goes for all "cargo freight" planes.

EstherLouise wrote:

I have to submit urine samples for drug testing a few times a year... it's a long story. I'm in Wisconsin and the samples get sent to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Sometimes, the results are in my inbox with 24 hours. I've always wondered how they got there so fast. I know that FedEx does the daily sample retrievals around 1600 hours each weekday.

You’re literally taking the piss..

B8887 wrote:

Another thing. Do cargo planes have specific configs just like passenger ones do?... For example to carry temperature controlled foodstuffs as opposed to auto parts?.

Every aircraft is able to control the temperature in the cabin, this goes for cargo planes as well. Although a special kind of cargo are live animals, often horses. You'd be surprised some horses (race horses I'm talking about here) are frequent flyers, those cargo planes look like a stable inside. The animals also need to be fed during the flight, and made sure they're allright.

consolidated cargo

Fedex does carry a lot of over night packages, that's what made the business, but the list of other things would be endless. I was never surprised at what could be loaded on the jet. A lot of one item things would usually be a charter like fish, F1 cars, horses, computers, phones, flowers etc. One reg. sched flights you could see art, gold, lots of Hazmat, pizzas, medical items, large tools and the list goes on. A BBQ place here ships their BBQ all over the U.S. on Fedex. Very hard to say what was most but I'd say packages.

FX started with documents- "Packagaes " are not a content, packages can contain anything. Basically, there are few restrictions of what can be carried. Such are DGR /Hazmat in the US). The other general Limit is "whatever fits through the doors".
For the shipper, it is important that he declares DGR, especially when using the Services f an Integrator like UPS or FX. Outside of the Integrators, freight is usually handled by freight forwarders who know ther Clients /the shippers) and what their nature of Business is. The freight fowarder selects the best and most effoicient way of Transport and knows how to handle the many exceptions that require Special handling, like human remains, flowers, medicines or outsized cargo..

As said before, FAK

PatrickZ80 wrote:

B8887 wrote:

Every aircraft is able to control the temperature in the cabin, this goes for cargo planes as well. Although a special kind of cargo are live animals, often horses. You'd be surprised some horses (race horses I'm talking about here) are frequent flyers, those cargo planes look like a stable inside. The animals also need to be fed during the flight, and made sure they're allright.

Do freighter planes have pressurization in the entire cabin area (which is of course, packed with containers) or is only the cockpit area pressurized?

Gr8Circle wrote:

Do freighter planes have pressurization in the entire cabin area (which is of course, packed with containers) or is only the cockpit area pressurized?

Yes. Just like a passenger aircraft, lower cargo area, main deck cargo, upper deck (if 747) and cockpit are all pressurized. There may have been a specialized aircraft that didn't have pressurization in the main deck such as a rocket booster hauler, but I'm too lazy to google it.

There is no pressure bulkhead between the cockpit and main cabin. It's all pressurized. Wouldn't say the cabin looks like a stable as the horses are in containers that are accessible by handlers. Though sometimes pee does leak out and smell up the jet.
Do cargo planes have specific configs just like passenger ones do?... "For example to carry temperature controlled foodstuffs as opposed to auto parts?."
No you can imagine the logistics problem there if they did. No way. About the only difference between jets would be no. of jumpseats.

Delete..duplicate

wjcandee wrote:

EstherLouise wrote:

I have to submit urine samples for drug testing a few times a year... it's a long story. I'm in Wisconsin and the samples get sent to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Sometimes, the results are in my inbox with 24 hours. I've always wondered how they got there so fast. I know that FedEx does the daily sample retrievals around 1600 hours each weekday.

LabCorp, one of the biggest, actually has a small fleet of business jets to fly samples to centers of excellence for certain tests. Others, they can do closer to where the sample is taken.

They fly a bunch of Barons too. I delivered and helped load them up sometimes. More than once the pilots come in on oxygen masks because of the amount of dry ice they use.

PatrickZ80 wrote:

You'd be surprised some horses (race horses I'm talking about here) are frequent flyers, those cargo planes look like a stable inside. The animals also need to be fed during the flight, and made sure they're allright.

Do the horse-configured a/c have horse lavs? [/humour]
Lots of smelly freighters recently at GSP for horse events in Tryon NC.
https://tryon2018.com/

I'll put the question another way as I think this topic has not been covered that much.

How does the cargo market differ from, say, the early 1990's before the e-commerce boom as we know it today?

A lot? A little? I mean, passenger aviation is well covered on these forums, but cargo...

Anything you would like to add/comment/share on this?

Were foodstuffs and/or electronics common for example?

Thanks..

Regards.

B8887

Early 90s, SPAC to HNL, freighter operated by our competitor, poor packing of aquarium fish imports ... lids coming, seawater and (dying) fish sloshing around the hold. Accelerated corrosion. Total hull loss after a few years. Ground service in HNL hated working that plane... find all the dead fish.

@B8887

simple answer, the Integrators have growth rates up to 10% and more in same markets while regular FAK stagnates.

The question is, can this be attributed to e commerce or the fact that Integrators have a better suitable Business model. My answer is both. The e Commerce biz is mainly B to C )Business to consumer) and that is something a freight forwarders tries to avoid like the plague.

Anyway, like in Pax traffic volumes are rising in the freight Business over all on the average.

But you are asking Special markets like Food stuff. The availability of space has created such markets.. In the early 8ßs cargo sales was confronted with empty space of wide Body aircraft, so they looked at new markets, like flowers and Food stuff. Flowers from Kneya and pineapple from Ghana became popular in Europe. Just 2 examples for many

WPvsMW wrote:

PatrickZ80 wrote:

You'd be surprised some horses (race horses I'm talking about here) are frequent flyers, those cargo planes look like a stable inside. The animals also need to be fed during the flight, and made sure they're allright.

Do the horse-configured a/c have horse lavs? [/humour]
Lots of smelly freighters recently at GSP for horse events in Tryon NC.
https://tryon2018.com/

Actually I'd like to know are the horses in special units which prevent them from fouling the aircraft floor?

yes they are though it isn't 100% effective.

trex8 wrote:

WPvsMW wrote:

PatrickZ80 wrote:

You'd be surprised some horses (race horses I'm talking about here) are frequent flyers, those cargo planes look like a stable inside. The animals also need to be fed during the flight, and made sure they're allright.

Do the horse-configured a/c have horse lavs? [/humour]
Lots of smelly freighters recently at GSP for horse events in Tryon NC.
https://tryon2018.com/

Actually I'd like to know are the horses in special units which prevent them from fouling the aircraft floor?

They're even loaded aboard in those units like any other pallet/container.

Horses travel first class on LH. As one can see from the Pictures. They even have, like some other large animals, attendants that accompany them

Do pilots generally know what they’re transporting, or do they just see FAK on their load sheets?

Marc

BooDog wrote:

One thing you have to understand about cargo between two markets. It's never balanced. One side ships way more product than the other. Latin America flies in more product to North America than North America flies to South America. For example, a fully-loaded plane carrying seafood from Panama City to Miami will head back to Panama City only half full of electronics. So the cost to ship by air from U.S. to Panama is much less than the cost to ship by air from Panama to U.S. This alters the dynamics of what's cost-effective to ship.

The amount of food shipped between the two markets is staggering. What ships from South to North is perishable, so it must be done by air. What ships from north to south is not perishable. Corn, soybeans, wheat. So it gets shipped by boat, not by air, because boat is still cheaper than a air cargo company looking to fill a half-full plane.

Very interesting post BooDog! One thing I want to add is that cargo airlines apparently try to circumvent these problems with the uneven markets by not flying classic roundtrips with all their aircraft.

A few years back there was a longer documentary about LH Cargo on TV and mainly featured a MD-11F flight routing Europe - Africa - South America - North America - Europe. And it was said that one MD-11F departs daily on this multi-day-trip and they said the main reason is to make use of the "cargo flows" being not equally strong between all continents. That kinda is the same what you said.

The pilot of the LH plane said with that routing they have their plane nearly a guarantee to be full on every sector. Of course there are also regular round-trips like Europe - US and return, but they put in additional flights going on very strange routings (at least on the first look), to make use of these unequal cargo flows and to not have too many empty aircraft flying around.

Over the last 4 months or so, I’ve flown every contract my airline has within a short time period (normally I’ll stay on one contract for a few months at a time). Here are my observations:

LAN flying from Miami to Central America is fish and flowers mostly. We carried some herbs and coffee as well. Leaving Miami we had a good amount of medical items like lab specimens and drugs. The most interesting thing to me was how much small arms ammunition we carried down to Guatemala City.

DHL is a mixed bag. Some express packages from Amazon or DHL itself that could be just about anything. Lots of document envelopes and LOTS, on every flight, of lithium batteries. That always makes me sit up a little bit straighter.

Amazon is....Amazon stuff. Literally could be anything, I have no idea. I see lots of diapers though, which I laugh at because my wife and I get most of our diapers from Amazon.

Military is predominantly food and other perishables. We fly to remote bases and bring in the bulk of what goes to the chow hall. We also bring in mail and parts. And, of course, people. Our 757C airplanes have 42 seats in the back for military personnel, contractors and family members.

Cadet985 wrote:

Do pilots generally know what they’re transporting, or do they just see FAK on their load sheets?

Marc

Pilots do get copies of the manifest and are informed specially on DGR, Ahimals and other class cargo

we only had hazmat manifests

mxaxai wrote:

Wow.

I suppose that's horse Y. Do you have a pic from J, and is it all lie-flat?

CosmicCruiser wrote:

we only had hazmat manifests

reminds me of the days I did air cargo saes in the US- The "freight guy" usually had a desk in a remote Corner of the warehouse and he had no clue what he was doing- The flight Crew should know the weight of the cargo and where it is loaded and there is a lot more than DGR (for US "hazmat("). But that's why we hardly used US carriers for Export freight. The only ones who really knew what they are doing were Seaboard and NWA.

PanHAM wrote:

CosmicCruiser wrote:

we only had hazmat manifests

reminds me of the days I did air cargo saes in the US- The "freight guy" usually had a desk in a remote Corner of the warehouse and he had no clue what he was doing- The flight Crew should know the weight of the cargo and where it is loaded and there is a lot more than DGR (for US "hazmat("). But that's why we hardly used US carriers for Export freight. The only ones who really knew what they are doing were Seaboard and NWA.

The Hazmat manifest was all anyone would be concerned with in an emergency. I might see other cargo being loaded like cars, machinery and of course animals as they would have handlers. We would be notified on some things like fish, chickens, etc for environmental reasons but other than that there's no need to know every piece.

airlinecritic

here you go.

It's all J for horses and other large animals

.https://lufthansa-cargo.com/products-livetd

@ CosmicCruiser

so you wouldn't want to know the weight and how it is distributed along the sections? What Airline was that so I can strike them off m<y list

we were speaking about knowing WHAT freight one had on board. Of course, we had all the weight and balance info required. Since the crew did not calculate the C.G. and TOW, I just received a "final" wgt & bal from dispatch via ACARS showing all the data I needed for the FMC.

PanHAM wrote:

@ CosmicCruiser

so you wouldn't want to know the weight and how it is distributed along the sections? What Airline was that so I can strike them off m<y list

There's a difference between knowing the pallet weights and the load distribution of the aircraft, vs knowing what exactly is on every pallet or in every loading position.

We only care about the pallet weight, Dangerous Goods and making sure obvious things like liquids that can leak aren't stacked on the ramp, animals are in a cooler section.

Whether there's a box bolts or a tray of cabbages in trim station 265 is immaterial to the pilot, he just cares about the total load distribution.

Every freighter I have flown has had the same paperwork onboard. The PIC is given the load manifest, which is the large voluminous collection of paperwork detailing what exactly is being shipped, the shipper and the receiver information, the HAZMAT info and much more detail. Then you have the Dangerous Cargo advice which lists all the dangerous cargo, the UN reference number and the location of the shipment and then you have the cargo loading plan which has the pallet and container location in the aircraft. In addition, you have all the other flight paperwork which is required including thousands of pages of worthless NOTAMS.