Air Cargo Leaders - Companies

Air Cargo Leaders
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Introduction
The American cargo courier industry has grown to be one of the largest and most sophisticated in the world. With the companies such as FedEx, UPS and DHL, the industry is constantly experiencing growth in cargo handling capabilities relative to the even increasing demand in the industry. Cargo technologies in sorting, tracking and controlling in the freight shipments has been one of the areas that has experience massive changes and growth (Donatelli, 2011).
FedEx/Federal Express
Found in the year 1971, the company has grown into one of the largest companies in the cargo haul industry. With reference to business strategies, the company shipped packages of all sizes and focused solely on the ability to deliver timely. This aspect attracted many customers, but also meant that it had to have an elaborate sorting mechanism (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2015). From developing small package sorting center, the company has gradually increased it capacity and now operates large sorting hubs. The sorting mechanisms are largely done by computerized systems (Terdiman, 2014). However there are part of the sorting mechanisms that have to be done by hand. Cargo from the planes is placed in the input area, where they are then placed on conveyer belts, after which they get the stage where they are measured, weighed, scanned and sorted according to their destination by a technologically advanced sorting mechanism (Fulton, 2000).
The system is quite complex equipped with lasers, cameras and miles of high speed conveyor belts that sort the packages in their hundreds of thousands per hour (Terdiman, 2014). Instead of manual tracking, the sorting mechanism uses smart labels to track packages. Using tracking codes the sorting mechanism tracks the cargo from across the miles of conveyor belts and across delivery cycles (Cosmas & Martini, 2007). For the customers, they can track their cargo through mail, using the FedEx Insight and by using the reference number. Using the highly computerized system, the company is able to control the freight shipment cargo, with better accuracy and efficiency.
UPS
Like FedEx, the UPS is a global company and a close rival in the industry. With millions of cargo going through t...