A report by the Air Cargo Management Group (ACMG) predicts that the global freighter fleet will expand to 3,883 units in the next two decades, up from 1,801 air freighters at present to meet growing demand for airfreight services.
This forecast includes the prediction that more than 1,100 freighters currently in operation will be retired by 2026.
"Taking both growth and replacement into account, ACMG predicts the need for more than 3,200 new and converted freighters through 2026, an average of 160 units added per year," Robert Dahl, ACMG's project director, was quoted as saying in a report from domain-b.com financial news website in Mumbai.
In support of these forecasts, the report pointed to a record backlog of orders for new and converted freighters, saying: "over the next three years, three new wide-body freighter types will enter the market in the form of 777Fs, 747-8Fs, and A330-200Fs".
Mr Dahl predicts that wide-body freighters will make up about 64 per cent of the market over the next 20 years, up from more than 50 per cent at present, the report added. |
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