Home » Louisville International ranks 9th in air cargo worldwide; study cites significant economic impact

Louisville International ranks 9th in air cargo worldwide; study cites significant economic impact

LOUISVILLE, KY (Sept. 20, 2012) – Louisville International Airport climbed a notch to ninth globally among all cargo airports in 2011, according to the latest Airports Council International (ACI) 2011 report presented Thursday at the Louisville Regional Airport Authority Board meeting.

Louisville’s two commercial airports generate 64,135 jobs and over $320 million in state and local taxes, the board heard in a separate report on the economic impact of Louisville International (SDF) and Bowman Field (LOU).

Louisville International  was the only airport among the world’s top 10 whose freight volume increased  in 2011, according to the Airport Council International report.

At its monthly meeting, the LRAA board  received good news in a report on the most recent survey of the economic impact of Louisville International Airport and Bowman Field . Louisville’s airports continue to be a remarkable source of strength in the area’s economy, according to the findings.

That survey revealed in calendar year 2011 that the airports:

• Supported 64,135 total jobs, meaning that more than 9 percent of total area employment – almost one in every 10 jobs in the Metropolitan Statistical Area – is attributable to airport-related activities

• Generated more than $7.1 billion in total annual business expenditures in the metropolitan area

•  Generated more than $2.28 billion in total payroll

• Produce over $320 million in state and local tax revenues

“All of these figures are significantly larger than the previous results in 2008, meaning that even during a major nationwide economic slump, our airports were thriving, growing and providing a huge lift to our local economy through more jobs, more payroll and more taxes paid,” said Phil Lynch, chairman of the LRAA Board of Directors.

The survey, conducted at three-year intervals since 1986, measures three types of economic impacts: direct, indirect and induced. Combined, these measurements represent activities including jobs, payroll, business expenditures and taxes generated by business.

Lynch also noted that in 2011, Louisville International Airport and its business partners invested more than $57 million in capital projects.

“Capital investments, like all other direct business activity, will create additional economic activity in the Louisville economy,” he said.