"Flowers could help airport blossom: Perishable items may increase cargo traffic"

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Flowers could help airport blossom: Perishable items may increase cargo
traffic 
By BUSH BERNARD
The Tennessean


Fresh seafood and flowers could be the key to boosting cargo traffic at
Nashville International Airport.

A survey of area businesses commissioned by the Metropolitan Nashville
Airport Authority this summer identified a demand for perishable items such
as seafood and flowers from Latin America as possible leverage for more
international cargo flights for the airport, airport Senior Vice President
Hugh Smith said.

Smith, speaking at the Tennessee State University's Office of International
Business Programs' ''Windows on the World'' lecture series, said the survey
will help the airport plan for growth in its cargo division.

The survey was conducted by Raoul Russell, a Nashville consultant, and two
TSU interns. It identified 1,000 businesses within a 200-mile radius of
Nashville that are involved with imports or exports. Of the 400 companies
willing to provide information on their operations, about 200 have regular
volumes of international shipments, Russell said.

The study will help Nashville in its efforts to attract more cargo flights
to Nashville, with perishable items showing the most promise, Smith said.

The amount of cargo going through Nashville International has risen steadily
over the past few years. The Airport Authority took over the cargo facility
in 1999 and has expanded the capacity of its storage space, as well as
improved and widened the areas around the runway to allow for more planes
and larger jets.

In July, Nashville International handled 5.7 million tons of cargo, a 21%
increase over the 4.7 million tons handled in July 2002.

China Airlines, which brings cargo from the Far East to Nashville six times
a week, has the only international cargo flights serving Nashville. The
company started two years ago with Dell as its primary customer. It
accounted for more than 2 million tons of the July cargo total.

Many of the businesses that the airport surveyed have their cargo shipped to
Atlanta or Chicago and have it trucked to Nashville. Fresh flowers from
Latin America primarily go through Miami and are trucked here, a process
that takes two days and presents Nashville with an opportunity, Smith said.

The average life of a flower is 14 days from the time it is cut, with
consumers getting the benefits of the final four days, Smith said. By flying
flowers to Nashville instead of Miami, ''we can give them an extra two
days,'' Smith said. Nashville, with its three interstate highways, could
serve as a shipping hub for the Midwest and upper East Coast.

The challenge, Smith said, is in finding cargo to fill the plane on its
return flight.

China Airlines in July delivered almost 1.9 million tons of cargo to
Nashville and loaded 181 tons for its return flights. Cargo carriers need
''backfill'' to make a flight to Nashville profitable, Smith said.

The survey shows that there is promise for the Nashville market, said
Russell, former head of logistics for Magnetek Inc. and Dell Inc.'s
Tennessee operations.

''We're not a Miami, Portland or New York,'' he said. ''We're not an
international trade center, but we could become more so.''


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