The World's Top 50 Cargo Airports
 he rapid growth in cargo traffic at airports in Asia and the Middle East may be slowing down, but the expansion remains the dominant feature on a world cargo trading map that is tilting decidedly toward the regions. The shifting global landscape comes as the cargo map in the United States is showing the impact of big changes in both the international arena and domestic shipping, leaving many second-tier airports facing declining freight numbers in the wake of an economic slowdown and capacity cutbacks by belly carriers.
The latest Air Cargo World list of the world's largest cargo airports, compiled from numbers from Airports Council International and the airports, shows Memphis International, home to FedEx, still at No. 1 in the world.
But Hong Kong International remains No. 1 for international air transport, and Hong Kong is edging closer to Memphis. Hong Kong's growth outpaced Memphis again last year and it was even ahead of the FedEx hub again in the first few months of 2008, putting Hong Kong in reach of surpassing the world's longtime top cargo airport.
Hong Kong's expansion comes even as government and carrier attention increasingly flows toward Hong Kong's closest competitors, the airports of Mainland China.
In Southern China, a short drive from Hong Kong, Baiyun Guangzho grew 6.4 percent last year and nearby Shenzhen was up 10.1 percent, but both will see still greater growth soon enough. FedEx's hub at Guangzho has been under construction and UPS announced this spring that it will move its intra-Asia hub to Shenzhen.
At No. 5 overall, Shanghai Pudong remains the top growth market by cargo volume, with a 15.5 percent growth, reflecting the continued potential from the world's most populated country.
Seoul Incheon remained No. 4, despite a slowdown from its primary carrier, Korean Air, as well as the threat posed by Chinese airports as alternative gateways for Northeast Asia. China figures strategically in Incheon's fortunes. Last year, transshipment traffic for the first time surpassed origin/destination cargo, and China accounted for a large portion of that cargo.
Anchorage International, a transit stop for East-West traffic and a maintenance center for Northwest Airlines, remains at the No. 3 spot and all signs point to further growth in cargo volume at this Alaska gateway.
At No. 38, Liege, the main hub for TNT, and transit point for Atlas Air, leads year-over-year growth among the Top 50 cargo airports, with 20.6 percent increase in cargo volume, followed by Milan Malpensa Airport (16 percent) and Beijing Capital Airport (15.8 percent).
Frankfurt came in at No. 7,despite only posting a 1.9 percent growth in tonnage last year. Lufthansa and DHL Express are moving cargo to Leipzig and elsewhere and Frankfurt must contend with onerous nighttime flight restrictions that allow for only 17 flights between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The bright spot for airport expansion remains the Middle East and India. At No. 13, Dubai, which has become a viable gateway for cargo to Europe and Asia and transit point for cargo from Africa, grew 11 percent in cargo volume last year. Although not yet in the Top 50, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah continue to inch up the list with 22.7 percent and 16.2 percent traffic growth in 2007, a sign that Dubai is not the only cargo center of note in the Middle East.
Freight tonnage for Mumbai and New Delhi continue to increase with 12.1 percent and 8.7 percent increases in 2007, despite an infrastructure that significantly limits long-term growth.
A disturbing trend is the continued decline in cargo volume at many U.S. gateways. Cargo volume at New York's John F. Kennedy and Newark airports declined last year 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. Cargo volume also declined at Chicago O'Hare, Oakland and Dallas/Ft Worth.
Even more alarming is the precipitous drop in freight tonnage at the mid-size and small markets, indicating further the deterioration of the domestic air cargo market. The slides at several airports stretched into double digits and many are facing lighter traffic this year and in the future as major U.S. passenger carriers slash flights and aircraft guage.
The consolidation of DHL Express traffic onto the UPS network also will consolidate that volume at the airports served by UPS.
Cargo volume plummeted 25.7 percent at San Diego, while Charlotte-Douglas saw a 16.3 percent drop. Columbus Rickenbacker and Tampa dropped 12.1 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, while San Jose, Calif., cargo volume was off 9.5 percent. Indiana's Ft. Wayne Airport saw a 44.6 percent drop in cargo volume, largely because of the demise of Kitty Hawk Air Cargo.
Even growth at the front running Middle East and Asia airports, whose growth in the past led the way, likely will continue to taper off until the economy improves and fuel costs become manageable. For now, any growth in freight tonnage is good news.
See also Air Cargo World's 2008 World Airports Directory.
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