Price Trends: Air

Transaction prices for flying freight on U.S.-owned airliners’ scheduled flights increased 1.2% in February. Meanwhile, prices for flying cargo on chartered flights plunged 10.1%, and even air courier tags deflated half a percentage point. The airline industry’s aggregate prices and underlying operating costs both peaked in July 2008 before falling to the May 2009 low. From that low to February 2010, prices for all services have increased 8.7% and prices for air cargo (on scheduled flights) have grown only 5.4%. Industry costs, however, jumped 10.4% due largely to a 63% surge in fuel costs. Demands from recession-battered buyers will likely constrain air cargo annual inflation rates to 2.3% in 2010 and 0.2% in 2011.

Source: Elizabeth Baatz, Thinking Cap Solutions. E-mail: [email protected]