Terminal Area Forecast

According to the 2012-2040 Terminal Area Forecast (TAF), the large hub airports and Memphis (Core Airports), enplaned 510.9 million passengers in 2011. These airports are projected to enplane 982.5 million passengers in 2040, a 92.3 percent increase over the forecast period (or 2.3 percent annually). Enplanements, the total revenue tons of freight, at JFK, Orlando, and Houston airports are projected to grow fastest (roughly 3.2 percent each).
The Top 5 Airport Enplanements Growth Rates 2011 – 2040 are JFK, MCO, IAH, IAD, and MDW.
The Top 5 Airport Operations Growth Rates 2011 – 2040 are MCO, JFK, IAH, PHX, and LAS.
According to Air Cargo World, MAFC airports making the global top 50 airports by cargo measured in metric tons include Louisville International – Standiford Field (7th), Chicago O’Hare International (20th), Indianapolis International (22nd), and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (41st).
Memphis, as of February 2013, is now the top air cargo market as measured by metric tons of air cargo handled annually, according to Airports Council International. Nationally, the top 10 air cargo markets are:

  1. Memphis
  2. Anchorage
  3. Louisville
  4. Miami
  5. Indianapolis
  6. Chicago
  7. Dallas
  8. Los Angeles
  9. NY/NJ
  10. Atlanta

Potential growth areas are deemed Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, or Great Lakes region, likely to be Minneapolis or Saint Louis. In 3-5 years, Colliers International predicts that the size of dominant US air cargo markets will have dwindled to at most around half-a dozen: likely Memphis, Louisville, Columbus, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver.