Chattanooga Amazon DC, Volkwagen demand results in FedEx capacity hike

FEDEX has boosted the size of its freighter capacity at Chattanooga airport for the second time in a little more than a year as local cargo shipments soar to a near all-time high, reports the Chattanooga Times and Free Press.

Airport officials credit the addition of Amazon distribution centres in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee, as well as demand from Volkswagen and its auto suppliers for boosting local air cargo volumes.

The Memphis-based FedEx recently started flying the bigger Boeing 757 in and out of Chattanooga's Lovell Field six times a week. This is a larger plane than the Boeing 727 that FedEx started flying into Chattanooga in the summer of 2011, which replaced two smaller aircraft.

FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey said that apart from increasing capacity, the 757 is a more efficient aircraft. The 757 capacity is 200,000 pounds, 40,000 more than the 727's.

Airport officials are projecting year-end figures to reach about 15 million pounds for the year. The record was about 16 million pounds in 2008, adding that the all-time high occurred when DHL also was operating at the airport before it ceased its US operations in 2008.

To meet demand, the airport has started a US$2.3 million expansion to a cargo ramp on the south end of its main runway near FedEx's location. Washington is paying for 90 per cent of the cost while the airport will fund the balance.

FedEx leases 1,300 square metres of hangar space and around 10,200 square metres of exclusive ramp space, according to the airport. It employs 30 to 35 people at the airport.