CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Aerospace and defense major Boeing Co. (BA) announced on Wednesday that it expects global air cargo traffic to double over the next two decades, driving the worldwide freighter fleet to more than 4,000 aircraft by 2045.
The company said the global freighter fleet is projected to grow 67% to 4,010 aircraft by 2045 from 2,395 aircraft in 2025.
Boeing said operators would require 2,930 new and converted freighters over the next 20 years to support traffic growth and replace retiring aircraft.
The company forecast air cargo traffic would grow at an average annual rate of 3.5%, driven by e-commerce demand, supply-chain diversification and shipments of advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence hardware.
Boeing said trade flows involving Asia are expected to account for about 60% of the global air cargo market over the forecast period.
The company said dedicated freighters are expected to carry more than half of global air cargo traffic in the long term.
Shares of Boeing rose 0.20% to $168.50 in premarket trading after ending Tuesday's session down 10.69%.
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