During his keynote address at the Piedmont Triad Partnership Annual Community Meeting, aviation and logistics expert John Kasarda, PhD, told a regional audience of more than 350 that the Piedmont Triad can 'fundamentally transform the region's global competitiveness' by leveraging Piedmont Triad International Airport and other regional logistics assets to create a 'Piedmont Triad Aerotropolis.' Kasarda, who coined the term, defines 'aerotropolis' as an urban, aviation-intensive businesses cluster formed around an airport and along transportation corridors radiating from it ' stretching up to 20 miles from the airport.

The remarks came during a presentation by Dr. Kasarda summarizing his study, 'Leveraging Piedmont Triad International Airport and other Regional Assets for Competitive Advantage," which was commissioned by the Piedmont Triad Partnership (PTP). Kasarda, who is the Director of Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is considered to be one of the world's leading experts in aviation infrastructure and related logistics. The PTP, one of seven regional economic development partnerships in North Carolina, is the economic development and marketing organization representing the 12-county Piedmont Triad Region.

Citing the growing importance of speed, agility, and long-distance accessibility as the drivers of 21st century industrial competitiveness, job creation, and business location, Kasarda argued that developing a regional multimodal logistics platform anchored by the FedEx mid-Atlantic hub offers the Piedmont Triad Region its best opportunity for attracting and growing business and industry. 'Air logistics and the new economy are inextricably interwoven,' says Kasarda. 'World air cargo traffic is expected to triple over the next 20 years, and more and more firms are clustering near major airports because of the connectivity to corporate customers nationally and worldwide.'

The presence of a Piedmont Triad Aerotropolis, according to Kasarda, could develop and brand the region nationally and globally the way RTP and research have done for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area and financial services for Charlotte. 'Air logistics represents the Piedmont Triad's best opportunity to create a world-class differentiating competency. It should be leveraged fully.

The Piedmont Triad Aerotropolis will complement, not compete with, what cities are doing in the region,' Kasarda said.

Kasarda was adamant, however, that air service alone would not be sufficient to produce and support the kind of logistics and distribution cluster he envisions for the Piedmont Triad; offering that 'the battle for air cargo is won on the ground, not in the air.' His list of transportation and infrastructure requirements for a successful cargo hub included upgraded local highways to eliminate 'choke points,' new interstates, extended rail lines, and state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. Other recommendations that were part of the presentation targeted airport area land uses, airport infrastructure, education and workforce, marketing, and leadership.

Regarding leadership, Kasarda focused his remarks around the need for regional cooperation and coordination. 'To compete nationally and globally, Piedmont Triad local governments must work together as a single entity,' says Kasarda.'

Government and business leaders must implement a coordinated set of regional strategies and actions to capitalize upon the new FedEx mid-Atlantic hub and broader regional assets to harness and leverage new business realities. Central to this is the reality that the region is a single market economy,' added Kasarda.

Kasarda concluded with a positive message. 'The region's multi-modal logistics assets ' including a central East Coast location, superior interstate highways, PTI and its new FedEx mid-Atlantic hub --provide an advantage that can attract investment, generate tens of thousands of new jobs and raise the image