China major target for cargo plane makers

China is likely to become a major battlefield for cargo plane makers in the next 20 years as the country’s air cargo sector maintains a more than 10%.

China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) — one of the country’s leading aircraft manufacturers — said China would need 568 freight carriers by 2026, more than 10 times the size of the present fleet, as its air cargo industry continues to boom.

An AVIC 1 report says that by the end of last year, Chinese airlines were operating 46 freighters with a commercial payload of 2,300 tons,.

Liao Quanwang, vice-president of Aviation Industry Development Research Center of China, which is affiliated to AVIC I, said, ‘China’s air cargo market will maintain an annual growth rate of 10.5% in the next two decades, which is slightly higher than the growth rate of the passenger transport market.’

He said the fast growth is being fueled by China’s booming foreign trade, which provides abundant cargo to air carriers.

Boeing has said China’s air cargo market will continue to lead the world in the next two decades during which its fleet of cargo planes will more than quadruple in size.