Air Cargo Unit Load Device Market Report

Market Insights

The global air cargo ULD market is likely to grow at a healthy rate over the next five years to reach US$ 427.5 million in 2024. Growing cargo traffic (freight tonne-kilometers) owing to accelerating urbanization and increasing disposable income, increasing deliveries of commercial aircraft, increasing demand for lightweight ULDs, rising ULD fleet size, and advancements in the technology are some of the major growth drivers of the market.

Wish to Get a Free Sample? Click Here

Cargo is an essential part of the airline business today. It contributed roughly 9% of the airline’s revenue, which is more than twice the revenues from the first-class segment. The biggest benefit of air cargo ULD is that it allows bundling a large quantity of cargo into a single unit. This helps to minimize the airlines’ operational cost by saving the ground crew’s time and efforts.

The airline industry is looking for lightweight containers with the prime focus to enhance fuel efficiency as well as to reduce carbon emissions. In the last decade, the industry has noticed remarkable research and development activities related to light-weighting containers. Many companies have succeeded in developing lightweight containers by forming strategic alliances with industry stakeholders. The key ULD management companies are opting composite-made containers by replacing their heavy-weight containers. The momentum of lightweight containers does not extend to pallets. Some companies have developed composite pallets to reduce the overall weight, but they could not offer other required properties and performance, such as durability. Composite pallets have a higher damage rate than conventional pallets.

Segments' Analysis

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Share by Device Type

The air cargo ULD market is segmented based on device type as containers and pallets. The container is expected to remain the larger device type in the air cargo ULD market during the forecast period. High preference over pallets, a safer device to transport cargo, and easy to load and unload are major growth drivers of the containers segment. Pallet is also likely to witness a healthy growth rate in years to come.

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Share by Product Type

The air cargo ULD market is also segmented based on the product type as LD3, LD6, LD11, M1, PMC, PAG, and Others. There are several types of ULDs used on passenger, cargo, and military aircraft. The selection of ULD is dependent on the type of aircraft, nature of goods, airline requirements, and the combination of the unit load device (ULDs). LD3 is the most widely preferred ULD type on both passengers as well as cargo aircraft and is highly compatible with Boeing and Airbus wide-body aircraft, such as B747, B767, B777, B787, A330, A350XWB, and A380. LD3 can also be interchangeably used by replacing another container type.

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Share by Deck Type

Based on the deck type, the air cargo ULD market is segmented into lower deck and main deck. Lower deck is projected to remain the larger segment of the air cargo ULD market during the forecast period, driven by the usage in both passenger and freighter aircraft. Passenger aircraft uses mainly its lower hold for ULDs, whereas freighter aircraft uses both main deck and lower hold for ULDs.

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Share by Material Type

Based on the material type, the market is broken down into composite ULDs, metal ULDs, and other ULDs. Composite-based air cargo ULD is likely to experience the highest growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for lightweight containers to increase fuel efficiency is the major driver of the segment. High durability and increased life of containers are the other major drivers of the segment. Composite-based containers are about 20% to 40% lighter than that of aluminum-based similar-sized containers.

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Share by Aircraft Type

Based on the aircraft type, the air cargo ULD market is bifurcated into narrow-body aircraft, wide-body aircraft, Very Large Body Aircraft, and Military Aircraft. Wide-body aircraft is expected to remain the largest demand generator of cargo ULDs during the forecast period. The high number of ULDs per aircraft, increasing the share of wide-body aircraft, and increasing demand for wide-body aircraft by cargo airlines are some of the major growth drivers of the segment. The aircraft type is also expected to experience the highest growth for the same period.

Market Scope & Segmentation

The market is segmented in the following ways:

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Device Type:

• Containers
• Pallets

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Product Type:

• LD3
• LD6
• LD11
• M1
• PMC
• PAG
• Others

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Deck Type:

• Lower Deck
• Main Deck

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Sales Type:

• Manufacturing
• Repair

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Material Type:

• Composite-Based ULD
• Metal-Based ULD
• Other Material-Based ULD

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Aircraft Type:

• Narrow-Body Aircraft
• Wide-Body Aircraft
• Very Large Aircraft
• Military Aircraft

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Application Type:

• Passenger Aircraft
• Freighter Aircraft

Air Cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) Market Size, Share & Forecast by Region:

• North America (Country Analysis: the USA, Canada, and Mexico)
• Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, India, Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: the Middle East, Latin America, and Others)