Air Cargo Next: News for the Air Freight and Logistics Industry
Air Cargo Next is a New York-based air cargo industry news publication covering air freight, logistics, and cargo airlines. Published by Royal Media Group, it serves industry executives and technology professionals with news, data, and analysis on the business of moving goods by air. The brand traces its publishing history back more than eighty years: until January 2023 it was known as Air Cargo World, a name it had carried since 1983, before Royal Media rebranded it to reflect the industry's shift toward digital technology and transformation. The relaunch positioned AirCargoNext.com as the definitive resource on transformational strategies and developments in the air cargo industry, tracking what is new, revolutionary, and next in air freight.
A Publishing History Spanning Eight Decades
Few trade publications can claim a lineage as long as Air Cargo Next's. The publication began in 1942 as Air Transportation, covering the commercial aviation business in its infancy. It became Air Cargo in 1969, then Cargo Airlift from 1969 to 1976, then Air Cargo again from 1977 to 1982. In 1983, the magazine became Air Cargo World, the name under which it built its reputation as a leading air cargo industry publication over the next four decades. In 2023, Royal Media rebranded the publication to Air Cargo Next. Through each name change, the publication has kept pace with the air logistics industry, evolving from a print magazine into a digital publication serving a global audience of freight forwarders, shippers, airlines, and airports.
Ownership: Royal Media Group
Air Cargo Next is published by Royal Media Group, a New York-based information company. Royal Media acquired Air Cargo World in September 2014 from AXIO Data Group, incorporating the title into its Air Cargo Management Group (ACMG) unit based in Seattle, Washington, alongside the publication Cargo Facts. Royal Media had itself acquired the Air Cargo Management Group — founded in 1978 by Ned Laird and the publisher of Cargo Facts — in an earlier deal that marked the company's first foray outside the financial services sector. At the time of the 2014 acquisition, Air Cargo World was described as the leading air cargo industry publication, read by more than 24,000 senior executives on the commercial side of the air cargo industry, at freight forwarders, shippers, and cargo airlines around the globe.
The 2014 Acquisition
The acquisition of Air Cargo World by Royal Media was announced as a combination of complementary strengths. Air Cargo World, with its commercial-side audience of forwarders and shippers, joined forces with Cargo Facts, which served the fleet and aircraft side of the industry. Royal Media chief executive JJ Hornblass said the deal was a big win for air cargo industry marketers, who could now reach the audiences they needed on both the commercial and fleet sides through the two publications. The Air Cargo World service, including aircargoworld.com and the ACE Awards, was brought under the ACMG umbrella, and Royal Media pledged to build on the service to provide better coverage and information for the market.
The 2023 Rebrand to Air Cargo Next
On January 19, 2023, Royal Media announced that Air Cargo World, the award-winning digital publication that for more than eighty years had reported on air logistics news and trends, had rebranded to Air Cargo Next. The relaunch positioned the publication as the definitive resource on transformational strategies and developments in the air cargo industry. The new brand would uniquely track what was new, revolutionary, and next in air cargo through a combination of insightful news, relevant data, and keen analysis, guiding readers — industry executives and tech professionals alike — toward more profits, market share, and efficiencies. "The transition to Air Cargo Next is a natural next step in the evolution of the brand," said Molly Stewart, chief operating officer of Royal Media Group, noting that as the focus of the air freight industry shifts to technology, the publication would continue to evolve as the go-to resource for freight forwarder, airline, and airport executives.
Editorial Coverage
Air Cargo Next covers the business of air freight from the commercial side of the industry. Its reporting tracks cargo airlines and freighter operators, airport cargo operations, freight forwarders and logistics providers, shippers, and the technology companies transforming air logistics. Coverage areas include market trends, capacity and rate developments, e-commerce logistics, sustainability and emissions initiatives, digitalization and automation, and the regulatory and geopolitical forces affecting air cargo flows. The publication's emphasis on data and analysis reflects its positioning as a resource for executives making strategic and investment decisions in a cyclical, capital-intensive industry.
The Air Cargo Excellence Survey and ACE Awards
A signature product of the brand is the Air Cargo Excellence Survey, established in 2005 and carried out and published annually by the publication. The survey measures airlines and airports on specific performance criteria and ranks them to identify above- or below-average performance, showing exactly how carriers and airports perform against the industry average and highlighting areas in need of improvement. The results feed the Air Cargo Excellence awards, known as the ACE Awards, presented annually as the industry's leading performance awards. The survey and awards give the publication a proprietary data franchise that complements its journalism.
Leadership and Editorial Team
Royal Media Group is led by chief executive officer JJ Hornblass, with Molly Stewart serving as chief operating officer. The publication has been guided by a long line of publishers and editors across its eight-decade history, including publishers such as John F. Budd, Robert R. Parrish, Martin B. Deutsch, Richard L. Gower, Susan Barbey, John F. Gorsuch, and Steve Prince, and editors including John McCurry, Randy Woods, Caryn Livingston, and Ivan De Luce. This continuity of professional trade journalism has sustained the title through its transitions from print to digital and from Air Cargo World to Air Cargo Next.
The Royal Media Group Portfolio
Air Cargo Next sits within a broader Royal Media information business that has served its business communities since 1995. The company's Air Cargo Management Group unit, based in Seattle, encompasses Cargo Facts and Cargo Facts Update — periodicals for the air cargo industry — alongside industry events such as the Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium and consulting work centered on technical evaluations of cargo aircraft and strategic consulting for aviation enterprises. ACMG has counted Boeing, Airbus, and other major aviation companies among its clients. Air Cargo Next and Cargo Facts operate in concert to provide comprehensive news coverage and analysis to the global air cargo industry, covering both the commercial and fleet sides of the business.
Audience and Industry Role
Air Cargo Next's audience consists of senior executives on the commercial side of the air cargo industry — at freight forwarders, shippers, and cargo airlines across the globe — along with technology professionals working on the industry's digital transformation. The publication's readership of more than 24,000 senior executives, as measured at the time of the Royal Media acquisition, reflects its standing as a leading trade title in a specialized global industry. Its focus on transformational strategies — digitalization, automation, data-driven operations — speaks to an industry in which technology is increasingly the source of competitive advantage.
Digital Presence and Access
Air Cargo Next publishes at aircargonext.com, a digital publication that succeeded the aircargoworld.com service. The site delivers the brand's news, analysis, and data products to a global readership, continuing a digital evolution that began under the Air Cargo World name. Readers can access the publication's reporting on air logistics news and trends, the Air Cargo Excellence Survey results, and information on the ACE Awards. As the industry's focus continues to shift toward technology and transformation, Air Cargo Next positions itself as the resource tracking what comes next in air cargo.
