b'10American Journal of Transportation ajot.comAmazon Air launches state-of-the-artPracticing extreme agilityair cargo hub in Northern Kentucky When to consider switching to airfreightThe $1.5 billion investment at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky InternationalBy Peter Buxbaum, AJOTAirport will serve as Amazon Airs primary U.S. hub for its air cargo network The spike in demand forcraftinsteadofwaitingfor Amazon has announced the beginning ofated from the panels will feed directly into theconsumer goods and the chaosstubbornoceancapacityto AmazonAirHuboperationsattheCincin- electrical grid of the local community. thathassownintheoceanbecome available.nati/Northern Kentucky International AirportThe Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/ freight market has led a grow- Decidingonairfreight (CVG). After more than four years of planningNorthern Kentucky International Airport willingnumberofshipperstoinvolves balancing speed and andconstruction,the Amazon AirHubwillmake Kentucky the undisputed national leaderconsider airfreight to get theircosts, but its also good to be serve as the central hub for Amazon Airs U.S.in air cargo, said Kentucky Governor Andygoods from Point A to Point B.mindfulofthecompetitive cargo network, facilitating the rapid transportBeshear. In addition to creating thousands of(See main story.) Thats espe- advantagesofspeed.Being of customer packages across the country. Thisdirect and indirect jobs, this hub puts Kentuckyciallytrueforproductsandfasterwhenyourcompeti-$1.5 billion investment in Northern KentuckyatthecenterofAmazonsU.S.distributionthat are high value and/or timetorsareslowordemandis willeventuallycreatethousandsofjobsfornetwork. Acrossthecomingyears, Amazonconstrained,suchasapparelunpredictablecouldhelp peoplefromvariousbackgrounds,includingAir will help attract more manufacturers, ser- ande-commercegoods,asyou triumph, noted a recent load planning, management of package sorta- viceproviders,andtechcompaniestoKen- well as industrial products likereport from Flexport, the San tion, and robotics technology. All regular, full- tucky seeking to take similar advantage of ourbuildingmaterials,semicon- Francisco-basedfreightfor-time employees will have access to Amazonskey geographic location. Congratulations andductors,electronics,automo- warder and customs broker.industry-leadingwagesofupto$19.50perthanks to Amazon for this monumental invest- tive and aerospace parts, andFlexportpointstoafew hour; comprehensive benefits including medi- mentinourstateandworkforce.Welookpharmaceuticals. instances where shippers might cal, vision, and dental; and a 401(k) beginningforwardtocontinuingthecommonwealthsOceanratesfromAsiatolerate higher shipping costs to on day one. longstanding and successful partnership withtotheUnitedStatesweregain speed and reliability.WonderfulcommunitiesanddiverseAmazon for decades to come. up almost 200% earlier thisNewproducts.Quicker teams like this are the heart and soul of ourCVGisproudtobehometoAmazonyear, making airfreight morecargo arrivals make it easier to operations,saidVicePresidentof AmazonAirs primary U.S. air cargo hub, said Chiefattractive from a cost stand- sticktolaunchplans,satisfy Global Air Sarah Rhoads. Were excited toExecutive Officer of Cincinnati/Northern Ken- point,evenasthoseratesthe initial rush of demand, and get rolling in Northern Kentucky, and weretucky International Airport Candace McGraw.increased.Withcontainersbuild trust with your custom-thrilledtoemploythousandsoffantasticWeve worked hard to ensure our airport is ascarce, and with the real pos- ers, noted Flexport.people from the area in this next-generation,great place to do business, and we couldnt besibility that things are going Seasonal products. If you highly sophisticated facility that will connectmore pleased to partner with Amazon on theto get worse before they gethave a few weeks of allergy our air cargo network for years to come. transformational impact this hub is having andbetter,itsworthconsider- seasontosellairpurifiers, The 800,000-square-foot sortation buildingwill continue to have on our local economy wellingwhenitmakessensetoyou want your bigger orders sits on an over 600-acre campus that featuresinto the future, from job creation to innovationconsignshipmentstoair- on a plane, the report said. sevenbuildings,anexpansivenewrampforand increased connection to the country. Then when demand lessens, aircraft parking, and a multi-story vehicle park- Amazon Air continues to expand globallyyou might transition back to ing structure. The sortation facility is equippedto meet the needs of its growing customer baserun hot for the rest of 2021,ocean shipping.with the innovative use of robotics technologywhile investing in jobs and sustainable solu- according to Lasater. But air-Trendy products. Goods like thathelpsmoveandsortpackagesinclud- tions to power its network. Amazon Air haslines still find themselves in afastfashion,newtechnology ingroboticarmsandmobiledriveunitsthatexpanded its presence in the U.S. to more thantough spot. gadgets, and popular kids toys transport packages across the buildingmiles40locationsandlauncheditsEuropeanairperform best when available of interlinked conveyors, and ergonomic work- hub in 2020 at Germanys Leipzig/Halle Air- l oadf actoR vERsusd EBt ASAP, noted the report, and stations that support a comfortable work envi- port. Amazon Air has also purchased six mil- f actoR may have unknown windows ronment for employees. The building will alsoliongallonsofsustainableaviationfuelandAirlines have taken on aof opportunity.feature a solar rooftop scheduled for installa- invested in leading-edge electric ground ser- large amount of debt to holdSpeediershipping,Flex-tion over the next year, and all energy gener- vice equipment. themoveruntilpassengersport also noted, can help over-startflyingagain,Lasatercome volatility, by squeezing explained.Thegrowingthemostopportunityoutof (FEARcontinued fromonly flights, said Berry, andthroughtheroof,aircargocargo business is not enoughproductsthataresubjectto page 6) are an important part of ourrates are still only six timesto offset the entire amount ofunexpectedmarketcondi-Ltd. container subsidiary saidfuture growth. more expensive per kilogramdebt. If demand for air cargotions. Companies whose sales via email. With the pandemic upend- than ocean shipping, half thewas not as high as it is, thespikedduringthepandemic Ningbocityisstillcon- ing container ocean shipping,differentialthatprevailedairlineindustrywillbeinshutdowns might want to cap-sidered a low risk virus area,and heavy congestion seen atbeforethepandemic.Thatseven more trouble. ture the last of a good thing, according to the citys healthcoastal ports and inland hubs,making air cargo more attrac- Increased passenger travelthe report said, and those wait-commission, although flightsair cargo has benefitted from ativetoapparelbrandslikewouldnotonlyalleviatetheing for the release of pent-up to and from the capital Bei- shift from ocean to air, accord- Levis, Tommy Hilfiger, andairlinesfinancialwoes,butdemand might want to be ready jing have been canceled. ing to Flexport, the San Fran- CalvinKlein,allofwhichwouldalsoaddadditionalto go when a wave hits.AuthoritiesinNingbocisco-basedfreightforwarderhave reported increased reli- belly capacity to carry freight.Manycompanieshave said the port worker was fullyand customs broker. Chassisance on airfreight. While some domestic passen- beenonarollercoasterfor vaccinated with an inactivatedshortages,congestion,over- Wehadtoincreaseger markets are moving in thethe past year-plus, the report vaccineandhadthesecondreliance on key gateways, andourairfreight,saidHarmitrightdirection,internationalnoted,relyingonextreme doseonMarch17.HewasCOVID-19relateddisruptionsSingh, chief financial officerpassengernumbersfortheagility to survive.infected with the delta strain,to labor are expected to persist,atLeviStrauss,onarecentfirst half of the year were dis- Practicingtherequired geneticsequencingshowed,a company report said. conferencecall,notingalsoappointing. The situation foragilitysuggeststhatcompa-andepidemiologicalinvesti- Airfreightrateincreasesthatwenegotiatedcapac- international travel is nowhereniesshouldnotconsiderair gation shows the worker hadhavebeentheresultoftheity and that has allowed us tonearwhereweneedtobe,versus ocean as an either-or come into close contact withlimited space on ocean carrieroffset some of the increases.said Walsh. June should bechoice.Youcouldchoose sailors of foreign cargo ships. routesandthepressureon(When does it make sense tothe start of peak season, butairfreightintheshortterm, logistics companies and ship- switch from ocean to air? Seeairlineswerecarryingjustevenifyoureturntothe perstofindalternativewaysbox on top right column) 20% of 2019 levels. oceanmarketlater,Flex-(BRIGHTcontinued fromto get items shipped on time,But the increased demandLonger-term, Walsh said,port advised. Or book some page 9) according to Liz Lasater, CEOforairfreightisnowcon- globaltrendsarepositive,of your shipments with pre-June,announcedalistofofRedArrowLogistics,astrainingcapacitiesatsomeasheexpectstheairfreightmium services, like an expe-plannedroutesforOctober,freightforwarderheadquar- airports.Flexportreportedindustrytobebuoyedbydited vessel and transloading when they begin to enter intoteredinBellevue,Washing- thatgroundhandlersneedglobal trade growth generallyto a truck, to split the differ-service. Flying primarily outton. This results in paying toptwotofivedaystobreakandbycarryinghigh-valueence.Putthathard-earned of Toronto, destinations willdollar to get spots on passen- downimportfreightatLosspecializedcargo,particu- agility to good use by figur-include Miami, Quito, Lima,ger or all-cargo air carriers. Angeles International Airportlarlypharmaceuticalsanding out when and how to shift MexicoCity,andGuada- Rates from China to theandatChicagoOHareande-commerce.Nearerterm,yourtransportmodesbased lajara.CitiestobeservedUnitedStatesareup75%that trucking remains scarcethesituationisfraughtwithon your business.beginning in early 2022 willsincemid-March,accord- for airport transfers and localuncertainty,thankstotheIts a lesson thats likely includeHalifax,St.Johns,ing to the TAC Index, thankspickupanddeliveriesatmutating virus, which is whyto remain valuable for some Madrid, and Frankfurt. alsotoawaveofsea-to-airthose two airports, as well assomeexpertsdontexpectmonths to come. Experts are Thesefreighterswillconversationsfollowingtheat JFK, in New York. pre-pandemic belly capacitiesnowsayingthattheocean allow us to continue buildingblockage of the Suez Canal.All of these factors likelyto be available until 2024, ormarketmaynotlevelout on the success of our cargo- Even so, with ocean spot ratesmeanthataircargowilleven 2025. until sometime next year.'