Atlanta-based consulting firm The Colography Group says that the airfreight industry in 2002 suffered one of the worst years in its history. Domestic U.S. shipment volumes last year fell by nearly 6 percent compared to 2001's levels, Colography reported in its Domestic Air Cargo Trends study.

The number of shipments declined by 5.9 percent to 2.6 billion. But data from the seven core domestic airfreight competitors tracked for the report showed that volume wasn't the only thing that took a nosedive: Revenues fell by 2.9 percent and tonnage dropped 4.1 percent last year. None of the core carriers, which represent 99 percent of the domestic U.S. air market, reported year-over-year gains in both shipment volumes and revenue. This is the first time in the study's 18-year history that has been the case.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) took some of the hardest hits, as its share of the air expedited market fell to 40.1 percent from 42.5 percent in 2001. Expedited shipment volumes fell by 11.1 percent, mostly due to what the consulting firm called "significant share erosion" of its Priority Mail product. Priority Mail represents 84 percent of the postal service's air revenue.

BAX Global, meanwhile, appears to be making a modest comeback from its earlier troubles. The company lost just 1.2 percent of its volume compared to 2001, and was the only one to report an increase in tonnage, up 4.4 percent. Emery Forwarding, recently rebranded as Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, on the other hand, continued its downward slide with a 17.5 percent decline in shipments.

On the upside, five of the carriers reported increases in market share. Revenue per pound ("yield") increased for letter and small package shipments due to a higher volume of residential shipments, which incur surcharges. Fuel surcharges also helped push that number up.