The Economic Role of Air Express in Commercial Air Cargo Transport

Before the advent of the air cargo transport, railway express constituted the fastest and most complete transport service available. This elite cargo service, handled in conjunction with passenger rail carriage, was available to the shipper at substantial premiums over that of other transport agencies. In 1953 approximately 1.7 billion ton-miles of surface express, representing less than one-quarter of one percent of total inter-city rail and motor carrier freight traffic in the United States, was handled through the Railway Express Agency, Incorporated.