iPhone air freight factoid
Here's an interesting factoid from a Bloomberg News article (<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/the-iphone-s-secret-flights-from-china-to-your-local-apple-store.html>) about the iPhone supply chain:
"FedEx ships Apple handsets to the U.S. mainly using Boeing 777s, according to Satish Jindel, a logistics-industry consultant and president of SJ Consulting Group. Those planes can make the 15-hour flight from China to the main U.S. hub for freight shipments in Memphis, Tennessee, without refueling, Jindel said. The 777s can carry about 450,000 iPhones and cost about $242,000 to charter, with fuel accounting for more than half the expense."
That's only about 54 cents per phone.
Also:
"Apple has used less conventional aircrafts [sic] to transport its gadgets in the past. Before the debut of new iPods last decade, Apple packed an old Russian transporter plane with the media players to get them to stores on time, said a person familiar with the flight."