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High volumes, logistics problems make life hard at Chicago's O'Hare

SHIPPERS at the sixth-largest US hubs for air freight, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, are faced with major hassles arising from a combination of soaring shipment volumes and logistical problems.

Cargo tonnage at O'Hare rose 20 per cent in the first half of the year, although growth has slowed of late, with volume up 7.1 per cent in June from a year earlier, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

The surge in air shipments through Chicago began amid the labour strife at US west coast ports earlier this year and has continued to feed higher volumes even though the port problems were resolved five months ago, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Many companies opted to redirect shipments of goods such as consumer electronics and automotive to avoid delays at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and some of them have continued using air because of its convenience.

The impact of higher volumes at the airport has been compounded by complications on the ground, including construction on roads leading to Chicago O'Hare, storage facilities that are proving too small, and long wait times in obtaining approval for new contracted employees to operate at the airport, industry officials say.

"It really hurts a lot of US business," said Chicago customs brokers and forwarders association president Jane Sorensen. "It costs them more money, they suffer delays in getting the products to their customers, and it hurts the US economy."

Three sides of Chicago O'Hare have been constricted by construction, creating a bottleneck with long delays for truck drivers, who are required by law to drive a limited number of hours.

Ground handlers are in short supply resulting in the slow pace of freight distribution. But the process of gaining security clearances for additional employees takes upwards of six weeks, deterring many employees from sticking with the hiring process and hampering how quickly airlines and ground handlers can put staff on board during peak business periods.

Among possible solutions floated are a push to persuade the city to speed up construction projects on existing roadways and build additional passages to the airport.

The parties are also trying to improve coordination, such as by having ground handlers begin communicating with truck drivers while they are still in line, for example. Companies can begin using localised social media to share wait times, delays and cargo availability.

Chicago aviation department spokesman Owen Kilmer said O'Hare is taking steps to mitigate the traffic clogging its roadways and speed up cargo processing, including one project to build a new 800,000-square foot cargo processing facility on the airport's northeast side.