In a country characterised until recently by dozens of self-sufficient regional economies - each with its own heavy and light industrial bases - the notion of rapid, nationwide distribution was fanciful.
But that is what China's emerging air cargo industry promises to deliver, with dramatic results for a country where the traditional distribution options remain relatively fast but expensive delivery by road - or cheap but inefficient rail transport.
China's big three aviation companies - Air China, China Eastern and China Southern - have between them 416 aircraft, of which only 11 are dedicated cargo carriers. But like most industries in their infancy, air cargo in China is growing fast.
According to statistics compiled by the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC), domestic and international cargo throughput grew 15.8 per cent last year to 1.98 million tonnes, with 84.3 per cent of this carried by the big three. Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport recorded throughput of 2.5 million tonnes.
'Surging exports will bolster air cargo volume further this year, prompting carriers to aggressively expand their cargo operations,' ABN Amro analyst Pierre Lau said.
To take advantage of this growth, the big three airlines plan to expand their cargo fleets this year.
