While the federal government shutdown appears to be nearing a resolution, it can’t come soon enough for air cargo stakeholders.

What’s Related

The FAA recently ordered up to a 10% reduction in domestic flight operations across 40 of the nation’s busiest airports between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. The move comes as unpaid air traffic controllers face fatigue and staffing shortages, prompting what the federal website Govfacts.org called “an attempt to align the scheduled flight capacity with the actual, available air traffic control staffing. Instead of letting the system fail with random, unpredictable ground stops, the 10% cut is a managed, organized reduction to keep the system stable.”

According to Mike Short, President of Global Forwarding at C.H. Robinson, the cuts will create some ripple effects in transportation but should have limited impact on overall air freight.

“The reason for that,” he told Logistics Management, “is that international operations represent a much larger share of air cargo movement, and, for now, international flights remain fully exempt. Right now, airlines have yet to finalize their lists of canceled or reduced domestic flights.”

Still, Short said the domestic air market could face temporary capacity constraints as a result.

“Because most U.S. domestic air freight moves in the bellies of passenger aircraft versus cargo planes, reductions in commercial routes will tighten air capacity in those markets,” he said. “So, the domestic air market could see temporary constraints and longer transit times. Truckload and expedited ground networks can absorb some displaced volume, but not without challenges, given that short-term surges drive spot rate volatility and equipment repositioning.”

He added that domestic air is a critical transportation mode for many of C.H. Robinson’s customers moving high-value, time-critical shipments—such as automotive production line components, semiconductors, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defense materials, and energy equipment.

“After the FAA announcement, our teams were immediately on the phone with customers to implement contingency plans—analyzing inventory and shifting freight to charters and expedited ground,” said Short. “We’re not just looking at the impacted freight but also determining how existing inventory can be used. For example, a customer might have an abundance of a vital component at one facility that their Southern facility will be out of tomorrow. We’re using our item-level technology to track inventory down and help keep production lines running.”

For more coverage of the air cargo disruptions, visit Logistics Management.