Boeing and Airbus Face Air Cargo Capacity Crunch as Freighter Fleet Ages

The aerospace industry is bracing for a looming air cargo capacity crunch as a significant portion of the global wide-body freighter fleet approaches retirement age. Both Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Airbus (EADSY) stand to benefit from replacement demand, but production challenges threaten to exacerbate the supply-demand imbalance.

Atlas Air CEO Michael Steen warns the shortage of large wide-body freighters will intensify in coming years. The perfect storm of aging aircraft, manufacturing delays, and supply chain bottlenecks puts $8.3 trillion of air-shipped goods at risk of slower alternative transport methods.

Boeing shares fell 2.5% Wednesday amid ongoing fulfillment concerns, despite the potential for massive new orders. The situation highlights structural constraints in aircraft production that could reshape global logistics networks.