Package delivery giant United Parcel Service Inc has placed an order for 19 of Boeing Co’s 767 freighters as a surge in e-commerce has raised demand for air cargo, the U.S. plane maker said on Tuesday.
The deal adds to a “record-breaking year” for Boeing freighter sales, the plane maker said, adding sales include 80 firm orders for new wide-body freighters and more than 80 orders for Boeing Converted Freighters.
The freighter market has been a rare bright spot for plane makers after facing pandemic lows, as a boom in online shopping, supply chain disruptions and a drop in passenger plane flights has stoked demand.
UPS, which has been a key beneficiary of the pandemic shift to online shopping, will take the delivery of aircraft between 2023 and 2025, its U.S. Operations President Nando Cesarone said.
Boeing said the new jets will enable UPS, the Freighter’s launch customer, to meet expected near-term and long-term cargo demand.
Since the launch of the model in 1995, UPS has ordered a total of 91 of the aircraft, according to the statement.
Boeing, which controls 90 per cent of the freighter market, forecasts an annual increase of 4 per cent in air cargo demand over the next 20 years.