Amazon planing to build first ever air cargo hub worth $1.5 bn

PanARMENIAN.Net - Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday, January 31 it plans to build its first air cargo hub to accommodate its growing fleet of planes, signaling the company is ramping up its expansion into transporting, sorting and delivering its own packages, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Seattle-based retailer said it expects the new air hub, located at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport in Hebron, Ky., to create more than 2,000 jobs. The move will lessen its dependence on traditional carriers, including United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp., both of whose largest hubs are nearby.

Last year, Amazon said it was planning to lease 40 cargo planes, 16 of which are currently in its fleet. It also brought on a dedicated network of 4,000 semi trailers to increase trucking capacity and has a fleet of citizen courier Flex drivers making deliveries in major metro areas.

Amazon's goal is to eventually haul and deliver packages for itself as well as other retailers and consumers -- making it a direct competitor with UPS and FedEx, according to people familiar with the matter.

Amazon didn't say when the air hub will open.

The site's new jobs may count toward the 100,000 jobs Amazon pledged in early January to create in the U.S. by mid-2018.

The online retail giant already has a large presence in Kentucky, with 11 fulfillment centers in place there in part due to the area's central location that enables it to act as a logistics hub.