The trends and cargo volumes of air freight are fairly predictable: the peaks and valleys tend to be the same, year after year, according to Mercury Air Cargo Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, John Peery.  For the spring into summer of 2018, however, it was “not even close,” Peery said. 

March is typically a busy time for Peery, he said, as it’s the end of the fiscal year for many companies, a time of cleaning up of inventories, and it’s also the end of Chinese New Year, when cargo movement to and from Asia picks up.  But this year, “March was a lamb,” Peery said. “It scared the heck out of us - it was absolutely dormant.” 

But when things began to turn around, it was game on. 

“Six weeks after Chinese New Year, we started to feel a little trickle, and it's been strong since then, from late April all the way through the close of September,” Peery said. Whereas summer months tend to be a bit of a slower time in the seasonal business, these past months have instead been incredibly busy 

“It’s all been exceedingly stronger than last year,” Peery said. The cargo volumes have surpassed expectations, and onboard utilization of space onboard the aircraft – which typically tends to vary – has also been strong, he said. 

“It's been a very bizarre year in regards to cargo,” Peery said. “We’re a seasonal business - it's like Christmas shopping in June and we're very happy it has been strong,” he said.