Lehigh Valley International Airport recently shared plans for its new cargo complex, which will support the increasing demand of a region with a growing manufacturing economy and an increasing population that desires consumer goods.

In 2023, 275 million pounds of cargo moved through Lehigh Valley International (also known as ABE Airport). It is the second-largest air cargo operation in Pennsylvania. The amount of freight has increased by 800% since 2014, and records for cargo movement have been set in each of the past four years. 

“The existing airport cargo infrastructure lacks efficiency. And our stakeholders will tell you it presents a couple of operational challenges. Well, we are going to fix these challenges,” Tom Stoudt, Executive Director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, said during a news conference at the airport on Feb. 20.

The project is being funded with $40.8 million awarded in January from the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program. The region’s federal lawmakers lobbied for that funding.

Don Cunningham, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC), thanked federal officials for their investment in Lehigh Valley International Airport.

“When government invests in infrastructure, whether that's roads or bridges, or airports and transit, it allows the private sector to continue to invest and to grow and create jobs,” he said.

Having a convenient and efficient air cargo operation is critical to the Lehigh Valley’s growing economy, which produced a Gross Domestic Product of $50.2 billion in 2022, the most-recent data available.

The region’s economy is diverse, with advanced manufacturing being a leading driver. About 700 manufacturers, who make everything from food and beverages to medical devices to technology, collectively produce $8.1 billion in output annually. That represents 16% of the Lehigh Valley’s GDP. Nationally, manufacturing makes up 12% of GDP.

“If anybody wonders the importance of freight and the movement of goods, you cannot grow a manufacturing base without moving those products to market. They go hand in glove. You make products, you move products, you deliver economies of scale for the private sector manufacturer that can make it here and move it from here and deliver it to one-third of the consumers in the United States in a short drive,” Cunningham said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Washington is investing in the airport to position it to be able to manage the future demand for both passengers and cargo. Last year, the airport opened a terminal expansion with a larger security checkpoint area and terminal connector. In the last three years, the airport has received more than $95 million in federal funding.

“We're betting on the jobs and the growth, the economic growth that comes from this airport,” Casey said.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said the airport is a major economic driver for the Lehigh Valley.

“It's about not just those jobs, which are awesome,” she said. “It's about fees that are paid by the companies that are shipping through ABE. It's about all kinds of things, it's about commerce coming through here.”

“It's not just about building a bigger, better airport that’s more convenient,” Wild said. “In today's times, we all know how much is being driven by online shopping … it's something that matters to real people.”

The 77,000-square-foot North Side Logistics and Cargo Complex will have centralized aircraft, truck, and vehicle parking. It will accommodate one to four users and be built with future expansion in mind. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Casey credited airport officials and the Lehigh Valley’s elected officials for growing the airport’s operations.

“And I think it's also a testament to the economic dynamism of the Lehigh Valley, all that being good news for the future,” he said.

Wild said the Lehigh Valley gets things done because everyone gets along and works together.

“We do it exactly right. The public-private partnerships, the cooperation of all the state and local officials, and federal level, is just something to behold,” she said.

“It's high time that the Lehigh Valley is really recognized for what it is in terms of its geography, and where we are and how much we have to offer in terms of just growth,” Wild said.

The region has much to be proud of, Cunningham said.

“We are a suburb of nowhere. We are this incredible little market, this little-engine-that-could, chugging away between Philadelphia and New York, right here in the midst of the East Coast metropolis,” he said. “And we're able to continue to grow because folks recognize and they support it, and they invest in it. And we can be our own market.”

Attending the Feb. 20 announcement in support of the project were state Representatives Jeanne McNeill and Mike Schlossberg; Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong; Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk; Hanover Township Manager Melissa Wehr and Council Chairman Bruce Paulus; and airport authority Board of Governors members Chairman John Hayes, Vice Chairman Glenn Reibman, Frank Facchiano, Larry Hemberger, Justin Grimshaw, and Paul Anthony, who also is a member of the Board of Directors of LVEDC; and Fadia Halma, Lehigh Valley Regional Director at the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development.

(Photo caption: From left to right, LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham, Lehigh Valley International Airport Director of Public and Government Relations Colin Riccobon, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director Tom Stoudt.)

(Cargo hub rendering courtesy of Lehigh Valley International Airport)