Toronto-Hamilton International Airport bucks cargo trends with dramatic increase year on year.

Tuesday 28th June 2011

Toronto-Hamilton International Airport, Ontario, has bucked the downward trend for cargo handling with recently released figures from 2010 indicating cargo flights increased by 14% compared with 2009, which is 3% higher than the North American growth of 11%. Ad - hoc cargo flights increased by 33.8% year on year.

"This is a great result for Toronto-Hamilton Airport in what has been an otherwise challenging year. However with 24/7 opening hours, excellent access to the Ontario road networks - the major markets in eastern USA and Canada can be reached overnight by road feeder service - and a pricing structure that is more cost-effective than the nearest airport in Toronto-Pearson, Hamilton offers cargo carriers and operators a significant number of benefits," says Karen Medweth, Director of Air Service Development and Marketing.

The airport is currently the largest (by volume) multimodal cargo facility in Canada with leading companies including Purolator, DHL which transferred its trans-border services to Hamilton in 2009, and UPS which has a full sorting facility on site. One of Canada's principal cargo companies, Cargojet which acts on behalf of a number of third party operators, formed a strategic alliance with LOT Polish Airlines in late 2009, and now provides the only direct cargo service between North America and Poland.

Perishable goods, livestock, emergency relief and just in time car parts all contribute to the existing cargo loads. "Much of the current cargo activity is focused on distributing small packages as a result of the main consolidators, Purolator, DHL and UPS as well as Canada Post relocating to Toronto-Hamilton from Toronto-Pearson. We've seen a direct correlation between the boom in Internet shopping and the expansion of this small package business" comments Medweth.

Future plans anticipate the construction of a 60,000 sq.ft. multi-tenant cross-dock cargo facility that will increase capacity, operate independently from the main cargo tenants at the airport and will provide exceptional benefits for international freight forwarders and cargo carriers. With direct apron access and airside truck-level loading the facility will bolster the already busy cargo traffic enabling transporter cargo, time sensitive goods, perishable cargo, food, medical supplies and refrigerated goods swift and easy access into and out of the region.

"This will take our cargo offering to the next level and will support our vision for Toronto-Hamilton to be the number one inter-modal air freight gateway in Canada with cargo volumes expected to exceed 500,000t by 2020" commented Medweth on the planned expansion.

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About Toronto Hamilton Airport:

Toronto-Hamilton International Airport sits in a prime location just 52 miles from downtown Toronto and 54 miles from Niagara and the US border, giving it an extensive passenger catchment area and excellent access to Eastern Canada and US networks for cargo distribution.

Significant investment of $163m has been made into the infrastructure at Toronto-Hamilton International since 1996. Projects have included an extension of Runway 06/24 to 10,000ft to accommodate wide-body aircraft up to 747-400s. CAT II ILS was installed to increase accessibility and reliability in inclement weather and the laying of asphalt overlay on two taxiways to extend their useful lives.

Toronto-Hamilton International Airport is working in close conjunction with the City of Hamilton to develop a designated area of land - the Airport Employment Growth District (AEGD) - which will provide 830m2 for development of hybrid prestige and light industrial businesses. Anchor tenants are likely to be those that will most benefit from the close proximity to the Airport.