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Aviation and Drones

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BTS Offers COVID-19 Related Daily, Weekly and Monthly Transportation Statistics

Responding to heightened interest in the most recent transportation data, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has created new web pages of daily, weekly and monthly statistics. These pages allow comparison of pre-COVID-19 and current numbers for passenger travel and freight shipments.

The new pages present a wide range of data on all transportation modes from various sources, and BTS will add more measures as they become available.

Air Cargo Down 11% Between the U.S. and Foreign Points, May 2020 (Preliminary)

U.S. and foreign airlines carried 11% less cargo by weight between the U.S. and foreign points in May 2020 than in May 2019, including a 40% decline in cargo between the U.S. and Europe, according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by large air carriers. May’s decline was smaller than decreases in March (down 17%) and April (down 16%).

 

May 2020 (preliminary) cargo numbers to and from the U.S. by world geographic areas (by weight):

  • Total to and from the U.S.: 735 thousand tons, down 10.7% from May 2019 (823T tons)
  • Europe: 122 thousand tons, down 40.4% from May 2019 (204T tons)
  • Latin America: 90 thousand tons, down 17.3% from May 2019 (109T tons)
  • Asia (including China): 392 thousand tons, up 10.3% from May 2019 (356T tons)
  • China: 85 thousand tons, down 2.9% from May 2019 (87T tons)
  • Canada: 22 thousand tons, down 9.4% from May 2019 (24T tons)

The total to and from the U.S. includes world areas that are not shown separately.

U.S. Tonne-Kilometers of Freight

KEY: R= revised.

a Incudes Freight, Express, and Mail. 

b Estimates from 1980 to 1989 come from the Association of American Railroads using ton mile values from the Surface Transportation Board’s Waybill Sample. The Waybill Sample represents all major U.S. railroads, including all Class I railroads and several short-line railroads.

c Foreign water traffic is only measured for their travel on U.S. waterways, based on distance from coastal entrance channels to ports and waterways, or from Great Lakes and...

Annual Rise in U.S. Airlines May Domestic Cargo (Almost 5%) Largest Increase Since July 2019

U.S. airlines carried 4.7% more domestic cargo by weight in May 2020 than in May 2019, the largest annual gain since July 2019 while the 8.4% decline in international cargo was the smallest annual loss since February, according to preliminary data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 15 of the leading cargo airlines.

 

The 15 airlines carry more than 95% of the total cargo by weight on U.S. airlines. Cargo data consists of freight and mail carried within the U.S. and between the U.S. and foreign points.

First Quarter 2020 Air Fare Drops to New Low

U.S. domestic average air fares declined in the first quarter of 2020 to $336, the lowest inflation-adjusted quarterly air fare on record in Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) records dating back to 1995. The previous low was $347 in the third quarter of 2019.

 

Adjusted for inflation, (constant 2020 dollars) the first-quarter 2020 air fare was:

  • Down 6.0% from 1Q 2019 ($358)
  • Down 6.1% from 4Q 2019 ($358)
  • Down 21.6% from 1Q 2015 ($429)