b'14American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comLife sciences air cargo logistics AIR CARGO QUARTERLY prospers in Puerto RicoThePuertoRicoLifeSciencesAirCargo Community (PRLSACC) is enabling Puerto RicotobecometheMedicineCabinetof the World.By Stuart Todd, AJOTThePuertoRicoLifeSuch growth requires the Sciences Air Cargo Commu- best quality air cargo (services) nity (PRLSACC) was set upyou could have, van Stekelen-in 2023 bringing together allburg noted.parts of the supply chain withAccordingtothelatest theobjectiveofmakingthefiguresfromRotate,capac-USislandterritorythepre- itygrew6%fromJanuary mier hub in the Americas intoOctober,versusthesame the healthcare/medical field. periodin2023withSep-ItisbringingtogetheralltemberandOctoberrecord-parts of the supply chain- air- inggainsof14%and20% lines, airports, forwarders, inte- respectively.grators,pharmaceuticalandThe leading carriers offer-Bush Airport has attracted a strong lineup of over 30 scheduled air freighters and charter operators medical device manufacturers,ingexportcapacityoutof ground handlers and haulers. Puerto Rico are FedEx, UPS, Houstons Bush and Hobby airportsPuerto Rico is the numberAtlas (Amazon), ABX (DHL), onebiosciencemanufactur- Amerijet and Emirates.setting recordsand the best is yeting hub in the US by exportInOctoberthisyear, volume, and 12 of the worldstheywerejoinedbystartup 20 top-grossing pharmaceuti- carrierGlobalCrossing Air-to come cal companies are located onlines(GlobalX),whichhas the island, including Johnsonteamed up with digital freight Houstons Bush and Hobby airports poised to set air cargo ton- & Johnson and AbbVie. exchange, Airblox, to launch nage records in 2024 with greater growth projected next year.Also present are 12 of thea cargo service between Chi-top 20 medical device manufac- cagoOHareandSanJuan,By Chris Barnett, AJOT turers, whose products includePuerto Rico.pacemakers, implantable defi- GlobalX is flying an Airbus Airportdesignersworldwidelookingtoalso situated in the epicenter of the oil, gas,brillators, surgical instruments,A321 converted freighter on createtheidealaircargologisticsfacilityforalternativeenergy,aerospaceandadvancedlab devices, dental equipmentthe route three times per week.shippers, airlines, freight forwarders and groundmanufacturing industries with plenty of lift toand vision correction. Airbloxhighlightedthat handlers should book a flight to Houston andhandle air imports and exports of large con- Whats more, Puerto Ricothree-quartersofU.S.-made take notes.struction equipment.has been designated a bio techpharmaceuticalproductsare Americas fourth largest city is a primeAsSzczesniakputsit,Houston,Texas,hub by the Biden administra- exported out of Puerto Rico, exampleofexpertplanningUSAistheworldslead- tion, with the task of fast-track- anddrugcompanieshave andcontinualinvestmentiningoilandgashubandising the discovery, development,majorR&Dandproduc-itstwomainairportsgiantthenumberoneUSexportmanufacturing,andsupplyoftionsitesintheMidwest. GeorgeBushIntercontinen- market with $237.7 billion innext-genbiotechandmedicalIndianapolis,forexample, tal Airport (IAH) and smallerexports including all modes ofdevice products. isalargepharmaceutical WilliamP.HobbyAirporttransportation.HandlingoverAJOTspoketoJonashub and only two and a half (HOU)which are poised to534,000 metric tons last year, itvanStekelenburg,advisorhours from Chicago by truck. set air cargo tonnage recordshad the third highest air cargoon pharmaceutical and medi- Abbott Laboratories is head-for 2024 and likely to breaktradegrowthin2023amongcal device airfreight logisticsquartered in Illinois.them next year.thetop20USinternationalto Puerto Ricos DepartmentAheadofthelaunch, Plus,BushAirporthascargoairportsandpostedaofEconomicDevelopmentAirblox board member, Neel attractedastronglineupof19 percent gain in total dollarand Commerce (DEDC), onJonesShah,underlinedthat over 30 scheduled air freight- cargo value last year.theworkofthePRLSACCthere was no freighter capac-ersandcharteroperatorsJim Szczesniak, director of aviationInterestingly,passengerand the latest developmentsitybetweenSanJuanand capableofhaulingprojectfor Houston Airports airlines operating at IAH flyat the hub. Chicago,particularlyfor cargoesfordeadline-drivenheavyindustryroutes connecting the U.S., and therefore airexpressservicewithevery-shippers and consignees and sharply growingcargo shippers to Europe (Air France, BritishthingflowingthroughCin-e-commerce shipments for demanding onlineAirways, KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines,cinnati where DHL has a hub consumers. Additionally, it handles 25 domes- Singapore Airlines, American Air, Delta Air,or Miami and trucking in the ticandinternationalpassengerairlineswithUnited Airlines), the Middle East (Qatar Air- winter can take several days.variousbellyfreightcapacities. Atnearbyways,Emirates),Asia/Pacific(AllNipponTheres a lot of demand Hobby Airport,whichonlyhas7,000-foot- Airways, EVA Air, Air New Zealand, Singa- intheMidwest,goinginto long runways, Southwest Airlines is the air- pore Airlines), Canada (Air Canada) and LatinPuerto Rico and coming out ports only carrier moving belly freight on aAmerica (Aeromxico, Avianca, Volaris, andofPuertoRicototheMid-scheduled basis. But it has an average of 154Volaris El Salvador). Plus, other smaller U.S.west.Hopefullywellhave domesticpassengerflightsdaily,withsamedomesticairlines,suchas Alaska Air,havethisairplanesoldoutvery day and next flight out air cargo in its bellies.flights beyond Americas borders.soon,thenwellbeableto And as this is written, the City of Hous- Factor in airline partnerships, codesharesadd even more flights.tons aviation department, Houston Airports,and other alliances, passenger airlines alone atJonas van Stekelenburg He concluded: Theres a is working to expand our cargo facilities andIAH can team up to move cargo to 195 desti- lot of recurring traffic in this addanewroadtotheexistingmajorthor- nations on five continents.a iRc aRgoc onnectivity market.Itsamarketwhere oughfares serving Bush so (pick-up and deliv- A key element in Puertopeoplearesendingmedi-ery)truckersdonotnecessarilyexperienceg RoundZ eRo foRi ntegRatoRs Rico emerging as a major aircalcomponentsdowntobe congestion and delays in the cargo area thatYetwhatgivesIAHrealcloutamonglogistics hub for the life sci- assembledintofinalgoods, plague some big city airports, Jim Szczesn- globalairfreightshippers,forwardersandences vertical is connectivity. day in and day out, or theyre iak, director of aviation for Houston Airports,3PLs is its 30 mostly widebody and jumboRotateGroup,anairsendingautomotivepartsor told theAmerican Journal of Transportationall-cargojetsthatblankettheglobewithcargo consultancy, forecasts aforkliftpartsbecausethere (AJOT) in an exclusive interview.scheduled and ad-hoc charter flights, the latter24% year-over-year increaseare automotive factories, and catering mostly to the energy industry.in Puerto Ricos life sciencesToyota has a big forklift fac-g eogRaphicala dvantages AnchoredbytheintegratorsFedEx,exports, during the next threetory in Puerto Rico.Houstonstwoairportshavegeographi- DHL Express and UPSit includes Cargolux,years,highlightedby30% caladvantagesthatfewcitiescanmatch.Emirates Sky Cargo, Cargojet, Air Transportannualgainsintempera- c enteR ofe xcellenceIAHisabusygatewaytoLatinandSouthServicesGroup,AtlasAir,ChallengeAir,ture-controlledmedicines.ande xpeRtiseAmerica,servingshippersandimportersofCathayCargo,LufthansaCargo,QatarAir- ExportsofmedicaldevicesAsidefromthedriveto diverse commodities, ranging from auto partsways Cargo, Silk Way West Airlines, Turkishare projected to grow 14% on(PROSPERScontinued on tofruits,flowersandfish.Theairportsare(RECORDScontinued on page 18) an annual basis. page 18)'