CHICAGO Rockford International Airport's cargo volumes are likely to continue to grow as it has positioned itself as a spoke in the air freight network that Amazon is building.
The online retail giant started building its own shipping and logistics infrastructure one year ago when it leased 20 cargo aircraft from ABX Air and another 20 from Atlas Air. Amazon freight flown by both companies is routed daily through Rockford.
The airport earns US$541,000 annually by renting an 80,000-square foot cargo terminal to LGSTX, an affiliate company of ABX Air, reported the Rockford Register Star.
Work on a 120,000-square-foot expansion of that building has just started and will enable ABX Air and Atlas to route more of Amazon's cargo through Rockford.
The cargo building expansion represents the airport's latest attempt to fulfill its vision of becoming a midwest hub for e-commerce air freight. Some 400 jobs will be added when the warehouse expansion is completed in a year from now.
According to airport director Mike Dunn, the airport will sell bonds to finance the $10 million expansion and repay the debt with rent income.
ABX and Atlas cargo aircraft fly daily from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport to Rockford. The proximity of Rockford's airport to Chicago makes it attractive to cargo operators that want to avoid the hassle of shipping midwest-bound cargo through Chicago O'Hare International Airport, said The International Air Cargo Association executive director Warren Jones.
'What Amazon is doing with its product is all about fast delivery, so they're going to look at whatever their best option is to deliver quickly to their market,' said Mr Jones.
'Rockford is a viable option for Amazon, a realistic option because you don't have all the congestion that you have at O'Hare,' he said. 'Proximity to Chicago is important when you look at traffic congestion, lease holds for cargo buildings and availability of workforce.'
Rockford's airport has enjoyed a bump in cargo activity since ABX Air began shipping freight for Amazon in 2016. Some 1.3 billion pounds of cargo made its way through Rockford last year, up 50 per cent year on year.
The online retail giant started building its own shipping and logistics infrastructure one year ago when it leased 20 cargo aircraft from ABX Air and another 20 from Atlas Air. Amazon freight flown by both companies is routed daily through Rockford.
The airport earns US$541,000 annually by renting an 80,000-square foot cargo terminal to LGSTX, an affiliate company of ABX Air, reported the Rockford Register Star.
Work on a 120,000-square-foot expansion of that building has just started and will enable ABX Air and Atlas to route more of Amazon's cargo through Rockford.
The cargo building expansion represents the airport's latest attempt to fulfill its vision of becoming a midwest hub for e-commerce air freight. Some 400 jobs will be added when the warehouse expansion is completed in a year from now.
According to airport director Mike Dunn, the airport will sell bonds to finance the $10 million expansion and repay the debt with rent income.
ABX and Atlas cargo aircraft fly daily from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport to Rockford. The proximity of Rockford's airport to Chicago makes it attractive to cargo operators that want to avoid the hassle of shipping midwest-bound cargo through Chicago O'Hare International Airport, said The International Air Cargo Association executive director Warren Jones.
'What Amazon is doing with its product is all about fast delivery, so they're going to look at whatever their best option is to deliver quickly to their market,' said Mr Jones.
'Rockford is a viable option for Amazon, a realistic option because you don't have all the congestion that you have at O'Hare,' he said. 'Proximity to Chicago is important when you look at traffic congestion, lease holds for cargo buildings and availability of workforce.'
Rockford's airport has enjoyed a bump in cargo activity since ABX Air began shipping freight for Amazon in 2016. Some 1.3 billion pounds of cargo made its way through Rockford last year, up 50 per cent year on year.