What are the advantages of air cargo?

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

If you are tasked with selecting logistics for your company, you have probably debated whether air cargo or ocean freight is right for you. Although ocean freight is certainly a less expensive option, air cargo is much faster and more convenient. If you are transporting anything that is perishable, it is a very good idea to use air freight.

Whenever you are trying to decide on how to transport your goods, you will always want to take the type of product you ship and the demand for it into consideration. There are a few reasons why air shipping is usually the best option.

You will Know When to Expect Your Shipment

Sure ships have departure times and estimated arrival times, but they are not nearly precise as those of airplanes. If your product does not make it onto a flight, there will be little reason to fear because the shipping company will just put it on the next flight. The next flight will usually be on the same day.

You Can Send You Product More Directly

If your company is located on a coast, you may be able to get your product from the docks to your warehouse fairly quickly if you use ocean freight. If you are located somewhere in the Midwest, it will take a long time to get to your warehouse. You will have to have a truck pick up your wares from the docks and drive it to you or put it on a freight train. If you put it on a freight train, you will have to have yet another truck pick it up and deliver it to your warehouse.

There are airports in every city in the United States and in most places in the world. When you ship your product by air, you will often just have to worry about one flight and one truck run before the product is in your warehouse safe and sound.

You Will Not have to Worry About Dock Fees

If you transport your goods by ship, you are likely to end up paying a dock fee. If you transport your goods by train, you may have to contribute to the building of new tracks. These fees can be significant.

Your Product has a Better Chance of Arriving in One Piece

There a lot of things that can happen on a boat. Rough waters can cause shipping containers to fall overboard. Although it doesn’t happen that often, cargo can be lost at sea. Air travel is the safest form of transportation. Around ten cargo ships are lost at sea on an annual basis.

Although shipping containers are fairly secure, boat trips are long and there is always a chance your product could become damaged or get stolen. Airline security is very tight and there are not that many employees for a single flight. There are many people working on a boat to security can sometimes be rather light.

You Will Not Need as Much Warehousing

If you use air freight,  you can get shipments often and that means you will have less need for warehousing. You will not need to stock as much of a product as you would if you were to await the arrival of ships.

Getting your products where they are going is a critical part of any company’s operations. Sometimes it is in your best interest to pay more for a little peace of mind