AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc., a provider of advanced aerial imagery and data collection and analytics solutions for the sustainable agriculture, precision farming and urban green management markets, has begun to actively pursue expansion opportunities within the emerging Drone Logistics and Transportation market – a market forecasted to grow to $29 billion in the next eight years.
Barrett Mooney, chief executive officer of AgEagle, stated,
“Over the past year, there has been a surge of prominent companies, including Alphabet (Google), FedEx, Intel, Qualcomm, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Alibaba, UPS, 7-Eleven, Uber and many others, actively developing commercial drone-delivery service initiatives as part of their long-term strategic plans. These companies intend to leverage the latest in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies to deliver food, consumer products, medicines and other types of lightweight freight direct to consumers and businesses in the fastest, most cost efficient and environmentally responsible manner possible – a practical alternative to costly auto transport.”
“We have received our first purchase orders to manufacture and assemble UAVs designed to meet the critical specifications for drones that are meant to carry goods in urban and suburban areas. We look forward to providing greater detail in the near future on AgEagle’s plans to address the needs of this highly specialized new market and the specific role we expect to play in its ongoing development,” continued Mooney.
In 2018, UPS reported that it transported and delivered 5.2 billion packages and documents globally; and Amazon Prime members, alone, ordered more than 2 billion products for one day or faster delivery last year. According to Flexport, drone-based deliveries will cut down both wait times and the cost of human labor significantly. Moreover, Dr. Anne Goodchild, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington, stated in a research paper titled, Delivery by drone: An evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle technology in reducing CO2 emissions in the delivery service industry, “We were surprised to find that for some realistic conditions, drones produced less CO2 per delivery than trucks. They perform better with smaller distances…this is largely due to their incredibly energy efficient and lightweight design.”
Accordingly, market research firm ResearchandMarkets.com projects that the Drone Logistics and Transportation Market will climb to $11.2 billion by 2022, subsequently rising to $29.06 billion by 2027. The anticipated growth of the industry is expected to be largely fueled by the high usage of drones in the ecommerce industry for delivery of products in rural areas, where automotive transport vehicles cannot readily reach or where deliveries take longer time.
Mooney concluded,
“AgEagle’s proven expertise in manufacturing rugged, reliable and professional grade UAVs makes our company a logical partner for designing, manufacturing, and testing drone platforms in the fast-growing delivery market. Not only does this represent an exciting new revenue channel, but it could yield material growth opportunities for us in the greater drone logistics and transportation market in the years to come.”
Source: Press Release