Aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicts the world's air freighter fleet will almost double over the next 20 years.
According to the Boeing 2011 Current Market Outlook (CMO) released in Paris on June 16, the number of airfreight planes will increase from 1,760 to 3,500 between 2011 and 2030.
Additions to the fleet will include 970 new-production freighters and 1,990 planes converted from passenger models.
Asia Pacific is forecast to need the most new airplanes over the next 20 years and will represent the largest market by value of deliveries at more than US$1.5tn, Boeing said. The region will account for more than a third of new deliveries worldwide.
Global air cargo traffic, meanwhile, is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.6 per cent over the next two decades, according to Boeing's forecast.
'The world market has recovered and is now expanding at a significant rate,' Boeing's Randy Tinseth said in a statement.
