Air Cargo Committee

The Air Cargo Committee is committed to advancing the industry’s understanding and knowledge of air cargo economics and practices. Its focus is to assist airport operators in the management of existing air cargo resources, maximization of potential air cargo opportunities and the enhancement of air cargo revenues, in addition to providing a forum to discuss cargo-related security issues and developing concerns in the air cargo industry.

Upcoming ACI-NA Air Cargo Committee Meetings

ACI-NA Air Cargo Fall Committee Meeting will be held at Air Cargo Americas in Miami, FL on November 13, 2025.

ACI-NA Air Cargo Committee meeting will be held in conjunction with the AirCargo 2026 Conference on February 15 – 17 in Orlando, FL.

Resources

• North American 2023 Cargo Data – cargo statistics, by airport, showing that the air cargo market continues to change, with volumes decreasing by 7.4% in 2023.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Briefing – prepared by the Industry Issues Working Group in November 2020, this briefing paper discusses the substantial role of air cargo in the mass delivery of billions of vaccine doses and supporting medical equipment in response to COVID 19.
• E-Commerce At Airports – What Airport Managers Need to Know – prepared in November 2020, this briefing paper provides information on how airport operations, facilities, and infrastructure could be affected by E-commerce.
• Air Cargo Guide – prepared in September 2019, this document is intended to provide general, practical information to airport officials and others involved in air cargo development.
• Air Cargo Revenues and Fees Report – prepared in February 2019, this report contains survey data from airports in the United States and Canada on financial policies related to cargo.

Air Cargo Committee 2024 Accomplishments

Accomplishment 1 – AirCargo 2024

In collaboration with the Air & Expedited Motor Carrier Association and the Air Forwarders Association, AirCargo 2024 was successfully organized and executed on February 10th -12th in Louisville.  As one of the three organizers for this conference, we worked hard to show our value by focusing on outreach efforts to have more ACI-NA member representation at this partnership event.  The total number of ACI-NA members in attendance exceeded 100 for the first time, representing 11.2% of the total conference attendance.

In addition, we contributed by planning various sessions highlighting challenges facing on-airport cargo operations and management, creating a tool to gather speaker bios and headshots in a more efficient manner, confirming Louisville Airport Director to deliver welcoming remarks, coordinating with Louisville Airport to display welcoming messages so conference attendees can see as they arrive at the airport and encouraging more sponsorship to support the conference.

Accomplishment 2 – AirCargo 2025

In collaboration with the Air & Expedited Motor Carrier Association and the Air Forwarders Association, the planning process for AirCargo 2025 started in July and continued with bi-weekly planning calls and marketing calls every three weeks. Committee Chair Patrick Haley, Vice Chair Simon Wood, and steering group member Mik Webber, along with ACI-NA staff, represented ACI-NA during these calls. As one of the three organizers of this conference, we are focused on demonstrating our value by increasing attendance from the ACI-NA membership. Additionally, we plan to hold an in-person committee meeting and organize two educational sessions on relevant topics for our membership during this event.

Accomplishment 3 – Organized the 2nd in-person committee meeting during the Air Cargo Forum 2024

The Committee held its second in-person meeting on November 13th during the Air Cargo Forum 2024, hosted by The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA). The meeting attracted over 50 committee airport and associate members. Topics discussed included de minimis shipment enforcement actions by U.S. and Canadian Customs and Border Protection agencies and a roundtable session with European cargo airports on the opportunities and challenges shaping the air cargo industry. This marked the first engagement with ACI Europe and their airport members to establish a framework for sharing knowledge and best practices.

Accomplishment 4 – ACRP Project on “A Guide on the Economic Impacts of E-Commerce on Airports and Airport Stakeholders”

The goal of this ACRP project is to understand airports’ role in the e-commerce supply chain and to provide information to help airports optimize their role in air cargo in the e-commerce landscape.  One of the research tasks includes documenting airport practices in accommodating air cargo and e-commerce operations.  The committee provided support to the research team by increasing member awareness of this research project and encouraging member airports to participate in this primary research.

Accomplishment 5 – Edge4Vets for Cargo

The committee helped to increase member awareness of the Edge4Vets program and its expansion to the cargo community.  After a successful launch at JFK in partnership with the JFK Cargo Association, Atlanta Airport also expressed interest.

Industry Affairs Working Group 2024 Accomplishments

Accomplishment 1 – Air Cargo Market and World Freight Fleet Forecast Webinar

The Industry Affairs Working Group presented the annual “Air Cargo Market Trends and Outlook” webinar featuring Gregg Gildemann from Boeing Commercial Airplanes Market Analysis on August 22.

Accomplishment 2 – Air Cargo Quarterly Roundtable

The Industry Affairs Working Group organized a Quarterly Roundtable on March 21 with 66 registrants covering three topics: ACRP project on “A Guide on the Economic Impacts of E-Commerce on Airports and Airport Stakeholders”, ongoing cargo projects by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and expanding “Edge for Vets” to the Air Cargo community.

The Industry Affairs Working Group organized a Quarterly Roundtable on June 27 with 66 registrants, covering three topics: BTS’s efforts to identify air cargo facilities using airplane and truck movement information, an ACRP report on “Modernizing Air Cargo Operations at U.S. Airports,” and a demo of the upgraded ACI World Intelligence Hub – “iHub.”

The Industry Affairs Working Group organized a Quarterly Roundtable on September 26, covering CBP de minimis Proposed Rule Making Change, Possible ILA Strike, US GAO Air Cargo Funding Study, and Guide for Developing Airport Air Cargo System Pans.

The Industry Affairs Working Group organized a Quarterly Roundtable on December 19th, attracting 63 registrants. Guest speaker Tom Crabtree, Managing Director of Transport Research Advisory, provided an insightful update on the state of the air cargo industry, which was very well received by participants.

Faces of Air Cargo” Video Series

The Industry Affairs Working Group, chaired by Patrick Haley, developed the “Faces of Air Cargo” video series.  Currently there are a total of 11 videos featuring ACI-NA members and two cargo airline representatives in the series.  These video series were publicized via social media and included in the ACI-NA Centerlines Daily.  The following ten videos have been released to date:

1. Nicole Maddox, PHL
2. Alex Lowe, YEG
3. Simon Wood, CVG
4. Milton De La Paz, DFW
5. Bryan Schreiber, LCK
6. Clifton Looper, PHX 
7. Adel Ismail, Lufthansa
8. Deborah Flint, YYZ
9. Jeff Olver, Alaska Airlines
10. Patrick Haley, SEA
11. Summary video

 Webinars

You can find the Air Cargo webinars on the Centerlines Connect committee library (ACI-NA account sign-in required).