‘Into the air’ part 1: World’s busiest cargo airports

Source: aboutus.org

Based on the most recent full year data from the Airports Council International from 2010, the chart below lists the world’s 30 busiest cargo airports. The total cargo is the number of metric tons loaded and unloaded during the year and percent change is from 2009.

Rank City          (Code)      Total Cargo  % Change
1 HONG KONG, HK (HKG) 4 165 852             23.2
2 MEMPHIS TN, US (MEM)  3 916 811               5.9
3 SHANGHAI, CN (PVG)      3 228 081             26.9
4 INCHEON, KR (ICN)         2 684 499             16.1
5 ANCHORAGE, US (ANC)  2 646 695            36.6
6 PARIS, FR (CDG)               2 399 067            16.8
7 FRANKFURT, DE (FRA)     2 275 000            20.5
8 DUBAI, AE (DXB)               2 270 498            17.8
9 TOKYO, JP (NRT)              2 167 853            17.1
10 LOUISVILLE, US (SDF)    2 166 656             11.2
11 SINGAPORE, SG (SIN)    1 841 004             10.9
12 MIAMI FL, US (MIA)          1 835 797             17.9
13 TAIPEI, TW (TPE)             1 767 075             30.1
14 LOS ANGELES, US (LAX) 1 747 629           15.8
15 BEIJING, CN (PEK)          1 551 471              5.1
16 LONDON, GB (LHR)        1 551 404            15.0
17 AMSTERDAM, NL (AMS)  1 538 134            16.8
18 CHICAGO IL, US (ORD)   1 376 552             31.4
19 NEW YORK, US (JFK)     1 344 126             17.5
20 BANGKOK, TH (BKK)      1 310 146             25.4
21 GUANGZHOU, CN (CAN)1 144 456            19.8
22 INDIANAPOLIS, US (IND) 1 012 589               7.2
23 NEWARK, US (EWR)           855 594              9.8
24 TOKYO, JP (HND)               818 806              3.7
25 SHENZHEN, CN (SZX)       809 125            33.6
26 OSAKA, JP (KIX)                  759 278            24.7
27 DOHA, QA (DOH)                707 831            33.8
28 LUXEMBOURG, LU (LUX)   705 371            12.2
29 KUALA LUMPUR, MY (KUL) 694 296           15.4
30 MUMBAI, IN (BOM)              671 237            18.5

SOURCE: Airports Council International, 2011

Nine of the top 30 cargo airports are located in the United States, five in China, and three are in Japan. Personally, I was quite surprised that Memphis, home of and the primary “super” hub for Fedex (formerly Federal Express), was not in first place. Aside from Memphis, six other airports on the list are Fedex hubs, including Indianapolis, Miami, Anchorage, Newark Paris (de Gaulle), and Guangzhou.

Neither Anchorage or Louisville surprised me, considering Anchorage is the primary trans-pacific air cargo transfer point and Louisville is the main “worldport” for UPS air freight in the United States. However, I was quite surprised to see my native hometown of Indianapolis so high on the list – I knew they were promoting air freight and have a major Fedex facility, but I did not realize it had become so important in worldwide rankings.

It is interesting to note that some very small nations geographically, are huge when it comes to air cargo. International airports in Singapore, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg, and Taiwan all made the top 30 – clear proof that geographic size does not matter if you market yourself correctly and find your niche.

Lastly, I was rather surprised not to see a single airport from Canada (especially Toronto), Africa, South America, and Oceania make the top 30 list for 2010.

Source: freightdawg.com