All of the Great Lakes airports tend to have free trade zones, easy access to intermodal transportation, and an outreach that spans over half of the United States destinations for people and goods. Many corporations take into account the location and ease of airport access when it comes to relocation or expansion of its business. Why is it that some airports gain more federal grants and attention than others? We believe that one factor that could inhibit expansion of Northeast Ohio is the air quality. Unless federal air quality requirements are met, Northeast Ohio could essentially suffer drastic consequences. Not only will corporations be less inclined to relocate here but the region could lose the opportunity of federal transportation funds to other “cleaner” locations. Highlighting the operations, strengths and weaknesses of the five Great Lakes airports we hope to discover this.
http://neotec.org/site.cfm/About-NE-Ohio/Doing-Business-in-NE-Ohio/Infrastructure.cfm
http://www.gcbl.org/planning/regional-air-quality-planning
General Information on Ohio Airports http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/TransSysDev/Aviation/Pages/Airports.aspx
“Economic Impact of Airports on Ohio”, 2006, Wilbur Smith and Associates http://www.ohioaviation.org/media/pdf/data_1.pdf http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/TransSysDev/Aviation/Pages/Airports.aspx
Ohio State Airport System Plan Update, Executive Summary, 21st Century Transportation Task Force, 2007 http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p267401ccp2&CISOPTR=2105&CISOBOX=1&REC=3
Basic stats on airports, such as number of runways and runway length, cargo tonnage and passenger emplanements
Top 50 Airports by Landed Weight of All-Cargo Operations: 2003–2007 http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2008/html/table_03_09.html
American Council International, ranking of airport traffic for passenger and cargo http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54_666_2__
FAA airport information by airport http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/airportdata_5010/
FAA 2008 statistics for enplanements and cargo handling http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p267401ccp2&CISOPTR=2105&CISOBOX=1&REC=3
“Cargo in the Middle: All-cargo airports are becoming major players throughout the Mid-and Southwestern states”, by Douglas Nelms http://www.flyrfd.com/pdfs/aircargo_3_31_08.pdf
Discussion of cargo operations, new runway construction, and the new larger aircraft. “National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems 2009-2013,” FAA, see p 55 regarding wide body cargo planes. http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/2009/npias_2009_narrative.pdf
Cargo Airports – the efficient alternative, by Santanu Sanyal www.thehindubusinessline.com/2000/07/03/stories/090371mo.htm
Akron- Canton:
The site provides a thorough history of the Akron Canton Airport. Currently the airport contributes over $300 million in economic impact and connects more than 1.4 million passengers to destinations worldwide. Today Akron-Canton Airport offers the lowest average fare in Ohio airports. Two outstanding low cost carriers- AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines- anchor the airline services. The airport sits on 2,700 acres of property, has two intersecting runways (featuring ILS landing), a 24-hour tower, 170,000 square foot terminal, branded concessions and 90 arrival and departure flights on six airlines. http://www.akroncantonairport.com/history.htm
Although Akron-Canton doesn’t handle much air cargo there are now minimum requirements in place which all air freight handlers will have to meet to be able to handle the cargo. In order to handle cargo at the Akron-Canton Airport, air freight companies must now meet minimum requirements in the following areas: equipment, operations, record keeping and the sale of aviation fuel and lubricant. Castle Aviation is one of the few air cargo carriers that operate out of Akron-Canton they specialize in on-demand charter flights. The charters feature both priority air freight and executive/passenger travel. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Castle+Aviation+Named+First+Official+Air+Cargo+Handler+for...-a094542387
Although Cleveland lacks the real estate to physically expand as they are bounded by I-480, the Rocky River Reservation, and the NASA Glenn Research Center , it takes advantage of its location by utilizing the Conrail Railroad and direct access to I-480 and I-71 for easy accessibility to its transportation infrastructures. Furthermore, it has made internal renovations to increase its revenues within the airport. Most importantly, they have increased restaurants and retailers by more appropriately utilizing the space available inside terminals, thus leading to an increase in revenues. In attempts to transform the airport, airport director Ricky Smith claims that this is “the first stage”…and “there is not a larger or more significant economic driver.”
It is important that Cleveland have a renovated airport because of its geographical presence. Cleveland offers over 320 flights to over 80 destinations domestic and abroad daily. Furthermore, the airport benefits from the fact that it is located within a 500-mile radius of nearly half of all US households, manufacturing facilities, top 500 industrial headquarters, and top 500 service corporate headquarters. Cleveland is well connected to move goods to and from the airport, as the city has significant infrastructure and easy accessibility to the Port of Cleveland, interstates, and railroad operations.
The proper use of the airport could result into a transformation of Cleveland from a metropolis to an aerotropolis. An aerotropolis centers a city’s activity around the airport. This allows businesses to position themselves closer to the airport and along it’s distribution channels for the quicker movement of goods. A study being done at Cleveland State University is exploring the possibility of such an aerotropolis in Cleveland.
http://www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/records_decision/media/rod_cleveland.pdf
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/09/cleveland_hopkins_internationa_3.html
http://blog.cleveland.com/newssun/2009/04/local_suburbs_and_cleveland_ar.html
Columbus is geographically centered to serve as a dominate airport. Columbus Regional Airport Authority promotes the airport by claiming that it is “centered between Chicago, New York, and Atlanta…a preferred location for distribution.” Furthermore, Columbus is a prime location handling international airfreight shipments as well. Benefits of Columbus Rickenbacker include; a one day truck drive to over half of the population of the US, over half of the US manufacturing capacity, and half of the Canadian population. There are over 15,000 truckloads unload and loading in Columbus on a daily basis. They relatively close location to Cleveland allows them a short truck haul to utilize the transportation infrastructure offered in Cleveland. The goal of Columbus Rickerbacker Airport is to develop a “multi modal regional gateway port designed to accommodate multiple 21st century international hubs with adjacent manufacturing facilities and direct air, rail, and motor carrier intermodal capabilities.”
The airport does have lofty goals, but unfortunately, cargo loads have been in the decline upwards of 40% this past year. Rickenbacker attributes the decline in cargo loads to a failing economy. On an optimistic note, the manufacturing industry claims the recession to be nearing an end. According to Bill LaFayette, vice president of economic analysis for the ColumbusChamber, central Ohio is faring much better than the rest of the Nation in terms of manufacturing and unemployment. Being so, Ryan Augsburger, managing director of public policy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, claims, “that Central Ohio’s network of colleges and universities combined with its skilled labor force and geographical position make it ideal for manufacturing.” Since manufacturing is expected to continue and rise, the use of the airport will be ideal for the transportation of goods worldwide. Although the current numbers are down, with the predicted stability and rise of the economy, Rickenbacker is expecting its airfreight cargo numbers to rise.
http://www.rickenbacker.org/aircargo/facts-pdfs/Facts-English.pdf
http://www.rickenbacker.org/aircargo/
http://www.rickenbacker.org/aircargo/trucking_radius.asp
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/11/23/daily16.html
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/08/17/daily22.html
Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport is one of the nation’s busiest and largest HUBs and based on the airport’s forecasting, things are only going to get bigger. Within the past twenty years, the amount of passengers serviced has increased by 149%, from 7.3 million to 18.2 million. Aircraft operations have also increased from 366,261 to 521,900, or 42.5%. To accommodate for this large influx in operations the airport has added a new terminal, runway, access roads, car rental and parking lots, etc. but it has not been enough. With expected freight tonnage to increase by over 100,000 pounds and passengers increasing by about 18million within the next 20 years, there is a need for more expansion. They have plans to add another 75 gates among two different terminals, an additional runway on top of the one they have already installed, additional taxiways to account for the increase in flights, and make room for more aviation related facilities. These include air cargo capacities, fuel storage, administration and aircraft maintenance. All of this information is good news for Detroit, seeing that this airport is relatively close to the city. If everything goes according to plan, it will be generating jobs both within the airport itself and the surrounding areas. The downside to this is that all the expansion may take over some of the business in northeast Ohio due to the two airports’ proximity with one another. This all depends on how well the airports in Ohio adapt to their demand changes, and only time can tell what the futures of these airports holds in store.
Mansfield Lahm Airport:
This web site shows us how close the airport is to the major highways. Also it tells you that their 70 different carriers in the area. The last part of the web site talks about how they want to expand their cargo facilities. The City of Mansfield is very involved in the growth and prosperity of Mansfield Lahm Airport and the Mansfield/Richland County community. We are ready to explain how our exceptional services can help your company grow. http://www.ci.mansfield.oh.us/airport/airports_lahm_opportunities.htm
This is just a summary of how long the runways are. 9,001 ft. x 150 ft. primary runway and has a crosswind runway of 6,795 ft. x 150 ft. Also it tells us the planes that land there. http://ci.mansfield.oh.us/airports.htm
At Mansfield’s airport they have the Army Ohio National Guard 179th Airlift Wing. It has their history and a detailed history how what battles they were. It is basically tell us that Mansfield is the military base for the 179th airlift wing. http://www.179aw.ang.af.mil/history/index.asp
This article gives detail information about the 179th Airlift Wing. They fly C-130 Hercules. They also own 4 administrative and 29 industrial buildings totaling approximately 265,000 square feet with 370 full-time personnel. They recently added a new building. Also this article shows us how important the Mansfield airport is to the 179th Airlift. They wanted to move the 179th airlift to somewhere else but economically it would not be functional. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/mansfield-lahm.htm
This is great information. It shows how many railroads are near the airport. Also it has Norfolk southern and CSX has railroads within a few miles. Also the North folk southern and CSX both have rail yard in Mansfield. It is 70 carriers near the airport. It shows you that Mansfield is a central place and would be a great place to send your cargo. It has many different types of transportation close to get to its final destination. http://www.redec.org/essentials/essentials-transportation.html
BAX Global Sees Opportunities in Merger with Schenker, by Jean Murphy, Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies, July 2007, in www.supplychainbrain.com
DB Schenker Expands its Global Air Freight Network, DB Schenker news service, 200 www.dbschenker.com/press
Schenker links Dubai, Hahn and Toledo with new round-trip service, June 2007 www.schenker.ca
Direct flight connects Schenker and BAX Networks. Every weekend a direct cargo flight connects Germany’s Hahn Airport with the American air freight hub in Toledo. Logistics Magazine available online.
Toledo is currently a huge international shipping hub with the primary user being DB Schenker. Last year Toledo was the 19th busiest cargo hub in the nation. With the rise in fuel costs, passenger traffic is on the decline. Cargo seems to be rising, especially internationally with the use of larger aircrafts. However, it does have a great deal of opportunities to increase its international business presence even more as well as domestic presence. With improved infrastructure, Toledo Express Airport could develop into the same revenue generating facility as Fort Worth Airport located in Fort Worth, Texas. The Fort Worth of 20 years ago and the modern Toledo airport are mirror images. They are both located near major rail lines, have relative ease to a seaport, and easy access to interstate highways. Toledo has already been granted a little over $3.5 million dollars to build up its infrastructure. If Toledo could mimic Fort Worth’s success, that could mean an increase in direct and indirect jobs for Toledo and all of the Great Lakes airports as a whole. The majority of the funding will go to enhance its current logistics warehousing facility as well as a new cross-docking facility. “Once complete, the BAX Global Cargo Hub will be the premiere international air cargo facility in the country—a truly efficient, low-cost, high throughput operation,” said Michael Stolarczyk, president of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
This link lists general information for Toledo Express Airport. The information includes the runway lengths and the types of cargo facilities which are in place at Toledo Express Airport. There are two runways one is 10,600 ft. and the other runway is 5,600 ft. The cargo facilities at the airport are: Bonded Warehouse, Transit Zone, Free Port/Foreign Trade Zone, Mechanical Handling, Heated Storage, Air-Conditioned Storage, Refrigerated Storage, X-Ray Equipment, Security for Valuables, Dangerous Goods, Radioactive Goods, Very Large/Heavy Cargo. The site also lists the largest aircraft Toledo are currently capable of handling. For the 10,600 ft. runway it is capable of handling a Boeing 747 and the 5,600 ft. runway is capable of handling a Boeing 727. In addition, the site lists the passenger facilities at the airport. They are: Annual Capacity 5,000,000 passengers, 8 gates, 4 air bridges, 200 short term parking spaces, 1,000 long term parking spaces, 1 Airport Hotel, Restaurants, Cafeterias, Bars, Newsagent/Tobacconist, Gift Shop, Tourist Help Desk, Car Rental, Taxi Service/Rank, Baby/Parent Room, Disabled Access/Facilities, Business Center. http://www.azworldairports.com/airports/a2740tol.cfm
The link lists a lot of information for Toledo and some of the services it offers along with the future land development. The site lists some freight forwarders in the Toledo area and their contact information. They are BAX Global, TWS (Trans-World Shipping, Inc) and CGL ( Concert Group Logistics). Toledo offers a neutral cargo holding service run by LGSTX Gateway Services, Inc. There are maps which show all the international destinations Toledo provides service too. Toledo is part of a Foreign Trade Zone and there is information which would be relevant to perspective businesses who are thinking about using Toledo for air shipments. http://www.toledoexpress.com/air-cargo/air-cargo
The link lists the expansion plans for Toledo along with all the funds they received to expand the airport. They received $2.8 million from the Ohio Department of Development in the form of a Logistics and Distribution Stimulus grant. In addition, BAX paid $1 million for the expansion of Toledo. The site lists all the improvement which will allow companies the ability to improve their operations and hopefully attract new business to the area. http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/20349/default.asp
The site lists the four airlines providing passenger service out of Toledo. They are American Eagle, Allegiant Air, DirectAir, and Northwest Airlink. The site also lists some information about other uses for the airport. The airport also offers a wide variety of aviation services including, three fixed based operators (National Flight Services, Grand Aire, and TOL Aviation), as well as a Cessna Citation Service center, Flight Safety Training Center, and Toledo Public Schools Aviation Center. The site lists the economic impact of Toledo Express Airport. The airport has a $640 million dollar annual economic impact on the region and provides more than 2,700 jobs to the community. http://www.villageprofile.com/ohio/toledo/03/topic.html
Wilmington’s Airborne Airpark was originally used by the US military. Within the past few years however DHL, a German based company, had acquired it as a ploy to increase its amount of North American assets. As the economy began moving downhill so did the operations of DHL. They began to operate at huge losses-up to $1 billion-and they made the decision to cut its operations and only do international shipments and contract out its U.S. cargo to Airborne Express (ABX) and ASTAR Air Cargo. For the time being this is mainly who operates out of Wilmington. DHL had talked to UPS about taking over some of their ground shipments, but no agreement ever came of it after DHL’s stock had fallen even deeper. As a result of this DHL cut its ground operations. The most recent negotiations have been between Clinton County and DHL. They have tossed around the idea of donating the airport to the Clinton County Port Authority. The land and its assets have been estimated around $26 million. A large amount of the city of Wilmington has been employed by the Airport, and as DHL has been cutting jobs, the city has seen a large spike in unemployment. If DHL does end up donating the airport to the county, then that would give their city a chance to gain some jobs back. This would not be an immediate result, but if another company or companies came in to use the airport that had sufficient ground services along with enough air cargo capacity, it could give the city just what they need to gain jobs back. On the other hand, it could mean the complete elimination of all remaining jobs. The future lies in the hands of the state, they need to come up with a plan as soon as possible to figure out what to do with this land if donated. If there are companies with sufficient air or ground services, Wilmington would be a good area to take over, companies are already used to shipping there and other forms of transportation, for example, trucking also have existing routes leading to and from the airport. Once again, only time will tell what will happen to this area?
http://www.daytondailynews.com/b/content/oh/story/business/2008/11/16/ddn111608dhlairport.html
Windsor:
Article from the Windsor Star. City has hired German consultants (from Lufthansa) to analyze Windsor’s potential to be a serious air port city. Produce companies expected to benefit the most, as they won’t have to truck goods into US to fly them. Major competition is from London and Hamilton airports, pursuing the same business. After surveying 9 airports from Toronto to Toledo, German consultants estimated commercial cargo will be 1.34 million tons this year. Windsor is now equipped to handle 161 tons, new plan calls for ability to handle 7,400 tons by 2011. Lufthansa’s concerns with Windsor include:
- Lack of cargo carrying and storage ability
- Not many passenger service out of airport
Windsor has potential due to perfect border location, room for development, and quick and easy access to port because of highway and rail facilities. http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Airport+could+cargo+village/1966390/story.html
Market Potential Analysis Report of Windsor, done by Lufthansa. Automotive and agricultural sectors currently dominate Windsor’s airport, but it has room for improvement. Windsor Airport (YQG) has great accessibility and room for development, but lacks current state of the art facilities to handle cargo. Lufthansa’s plan is to develop YQG to build up its air cargo business in the short, medium, and long term. In addition, while developing the YQG, Lufthansa believes it has the potential to become a full service airport. Microeconomic factors that YQG will need to do are develop air cargo related facilities as well as distribution centers, and implement a plan to market their airport as an airline destination. Macro-economic factors include establishing a US pre-clearance facility (customs) and development of local businesses. Because of its lack of passenger travel, YQG is not viewed by shippers or forwarders as a viable cargo airport. http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=15110
From the Windsor Airport website. YQG is based in a leading transportation port due to great access from deepwater ports, RR, airports, and sophisticated highway systems. YQG has the longest runway between Detroit and Toronto and is the most southern point of Canada. They emphasize speed of service, while explaining that their small airport setting benefits shippers due to no aircraft or load restrictions, no ground delays, and easy access to ground, rail and sea routes. This site also lists the various competitive advantages that YQG boasts. http://www.yqg.ca/ecom.asp?pg=corporate-cargo-cargo
Youngstown-Warren Airport:
This site show the current cargo facility that is for sale and available for expansion. It is a 24,000 square feet and it has the room to expand another 80,000 square feet. Also it its own road leading up to the cargo facility and a parking lot for trucks. Also it has its own apron leading to the 9,000 square foot runway. The apron and runway can handle any sized aircraft. http://www.yngwrnair.com/Data/facilities.html
This info shows the current cargo facilities in detail. As well as the passengers facilities. It also tells you the recent cargo investment they made. It also gives you the runway length as well as the amount of passengers and cargo that has been handled in the past 4 years. And it also has information concerning telephone numbers and who owns the airport. http://www.azworldairports.com/airports/a2740yng.cfm
This site tells you how long the run ways are. One is 9003 ft by 150 ft and the second runway is 5002ft by 150 ft. It also gives you the condition of the runways and what materials they are made from. Both are grooved asphalt. Also gives the condition of the run ways. Both in excellent condition. Also it gets detail information about the entry lights and lighting system. http://www.yngwrnair.com/Data/runways.html
This is a pdf file that tells us how important the Youngstown air port. In a 500 mile radius it is located around 60% of the US Population. Also it gives you detailed information about how it is 75 miles away from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Akron, Canton and Erie. It also gives us details about what is located within that area; the business as well as other airports, railroads, ports, and distribution centers. Youngstown is in a very important location. Also it is important for just in time inventories because anything that is sent from Youngstown will arrive in one day. http://www.regionalchamber.com/EconomicDevelopment/DevelopmentAssistance/~/media/YWRC/Files/PDF/ED%20Online%20Library/FBLocation.ashx
