If you were lucky enough to receive Valentine’s Day flowers chances are they came into the U.S. through Miami International Airport.
Over 85% of the flowers imported into the U.S. come through Miami International Airport. That includes the roses on Valentine’s Day. They arrive in many of the passenger flights for different parts of the world.
The carnations, roses, sunflowers, hydrangeas and other types are then rushed on forklifts to refrigerated warehouses, then onto trucks with refrigeration or onto other planes to be delivered to florists, grocery stores and other businesses across the U.S.
Most passengers on airlines focus on those things that are visible, like how much legroom they have and the amount of storage space in the overhead compartments. Few if any think about the cargo beneath the floor.
There are many things traveling with the passengers including luxury clothing from fashion designers in Milan, fresh salmon from Alaska and asparagus from Peru on their way to London.
Even more unusual items can be found onboard from a shipment of diamonds and gold to a live cheetah.
For many passenger airlines in the U.S., cargo might be small but it is an increasingly important sector of their business. The jets of today are built to hold more cargo and airlines have started adding new international routes that are non-stop that have become popular with shippers.
In 2013, air shippers and passenger airlines hauled over 52 million tons of cargo worldwide, representing over $6 trillion in goods. That was an increase of 1.4% from 2012. Air cargo is projected to increase by 17% over the next five years, said analysts.
Shipping cargo by air is nearly 10 times more expensive than cargo shipped by sea. Therefore, air cargo is usually restricted to high-end trendy fashion items, the latest and most popular electronics, flowers and other perishable goods.
Most of the non-perishable items like jeans, t-shirts, and even televisions are shipped by sea. Industry experts say if a product has a low price point, it can usually be found on a ship.
Rates of air cargo have fallen since the recession as more people have opted to use less expensive shipping via sea.
