Shippers and consignees are cutting back on the use of air freight and other premium services in favor of less costly transportation options. Increasingly this is spreading to commodities that have traditionally moved exclusively by air, such as cellular phones.

In an excellent article, Ian Putzger, air freight correspondent of Cargo News Asia, said members of the Supply Chain Consortium, an industry grouping representing some 110 companies are trimming their air freight traffic. This year 27 percent of SCC members have signaled a decline in air freight, and 26 percent are seeing a reduction in parcel traffic.

James Tompkins, president and chief executive officer of supply chain consulting firm Tompkins Associates, which manages the SCC program, said, 'The role of air freight is small and decreasing.'

Bob Imbriani, vice-president of international operations of forwarder Team Worldwide, Said air freight users are increasingly looking at marine transportation instead. He said, 'A shift of commodities to ocean is a true factor.'

Korean Air is attributing a decline in exports from its home market to the decision of producers of cellular phones and plasma TVs to ship part of their output by ocean vessel. Ken Choi, president of KAL Cargo, said, 'In the past phones went 99 percent by air; now it's only 70 percent.'

Bob Imbriani attributes this to a combination of factors that have made shipping an an attractive and viable alternative to air freight. Sailing schedules have become more reliable, capacity is up. The use of special equipment and containers, such as temperature and humidity control devices, have made it possible to move electronics in ocean containers.

There is still a large variance in transit times. On average, SCC members reported 22 days from and China to the US, but the spread ranges from as little as 11 days to as many as 45. Likewise, average transit times from other Pacific Rim countries are 27 days, but this can mean anything between 12 and 45 days.