This industry leader discusses Anchorage's future as an international air cargo hub.

• Author: KANE, ROGER
• Position: Morton V. Plumb, Jr. - Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport - Interview

The world is shrinking. The World Wide Web has brought people and cultures together across telephone lines. Satellite transmissions allow near instantaneous communication across thousands of miles. Moreover, the air cargo industry can deliver just about anything, from just about anywhere, in a matter of days--and in some cases hours.

New, longer-range cargo jets (expected to take to the air in the latter years of this decade), coupled with newly opened cargo routes to China and Russia, are bringing people, places and things together more efficiently, faster and with fewer refueling stops.

Geographically, Anchorage is ideally situated to be an international air cargo hub and has enjoyed that distinction for years. Nevertheless, as new technology allows air freighters to span greater distances, Anchorage's future as a cargo hub is uncertain.

This interview with Morton V. Plumb, Jr., director of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, examines some of the issues confronting the air cargo industry in Alaska.

ABM: Why is Anchorage a desirable destination for the air cargo industry?

Plumb: Anchorage is strategically located within nine hours of 95 percent of the industrialized world, including Asia, Europe and North America.

ABM: How important is the air cargo industry to employment in Alaska? How many jobs in Alaska are dependent upon the air cargo industry? How many jobs are directly or indirectly related to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport?

Plumb: The air cargo industry is one of the major drivers of the Anchorage economy. Approximately 9,100 jobs are located at the airport on a year round basis, which directly represent 7 percent of all the wage and salary jobs in Anchorage, according to information provided by Scott Goldsmith, UAA, ISER. Anchorage air transport payroll is five times the level one would expect in a community of its size. Total annual payroll for airport workers is approximately $367 million.

ABM: How do advances in logistics and freight-handling technology affect the air cargo industry?

Plumb: Any new advances in logistics and freight-handling technology help increase operational efficiencies of our carriers and deepen roots in Alaska. It also allows us to develop new strategies to market Anchorage as a value-added logistics location.

ABM: Federal &press ordered 10-Airbus A380, long-range cargo jets earlier this year. How do you expect the future use of those new jets to affect operations at FedEx's Anchorage...