Hamilton airport’s cargo business sees 59 per cent growth over five years
Hamilton international airport saw significant growth in its air cargo traffic - carrying 59 per cent more cargo traffic in 2021 compared to 2017 and outpacing the average air cargo growth in Canada.
In 2021, over 156,000 tonnes of cargo shipments were facilitated through the Hamilton airport, data from Statistics Canada shows.
Executive managing director of Hamilton airport Cole Horncastle cited the real shift with e-commerce" as a factor advancing the growth trends at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport - a shift that was predicted to take shape over the decade.
With a lot of pandemic impacts, we saw some e-commerce shifts and we saw that growth starting really in 2020," he said, including a shift in consumers' purchasing habits and additional COVID-related pharmaceutical items coming through the airport really drove a lot of that growth."
A decrease in passenger traffic during the pandemic restrictions also allowed more opportunities for a higher amount of air cargo shipments.
While John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport continued to experience growth over the past few years, the average air cargo traffic declined three per cent across Canada during the same period, the airport said in a release on Wednesday.
The growth at the airport has attracted significant investments from cargo operators, including at least $100 million from DHL toward their gateway facility that opened last September, said Horncastle. They're already overperforming their expectations."
Meanwhile, Cargojet is investing in expanding its aircraft fleet. Other partners including Purolator and UPS have also significantly contributed to the growth - and bringing more jobs and increasing the airport valuation.
Jennifer Patterson, a business investment and sector development manager at the city, calls Hamilton a true multimodal city" situated at a key location within the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, helping in moving products and goods faster, and creating jobs in the community.
In 2021, over 2,700 jobs and $ 1 billion in valuation were directly attributed to the Hamilton airport's cargo business.
The 24-7 cargo airport with fewer restrictions and curfews, as well as easy access to 400 series highways, have played a strong role in attracting investors and cargo investors to the Hamilton airport, Horncastle said.
Patterson said the airport's cargo section remained operational during the pandemic restrictions, being a significant benefit to us ... and giving us further profile in terms of the impact it has during that period of time."
She said companies are willing to be around the city's asset" - its airport, which can provide services to companies in marketing products more effectively.
The airport continues to see decent growth in 2022. Horncastle said he can safely" confirm the growth of 10 to 15 per cent year-over-year compared to 2021. We are expecting further growth."
Editor's note: This story was corrected Dec. 16, 2022 to reflect that the Hamilton airport carried over 156,000 tonnes of cargo shipment in 2021, not 156 tonnes as originally reported.
Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com