The outstanding increase of cargo tonnage at Düsseldorf airport of 19.2% over 2012 and second quarter 6.8%, is due to several factors. Higher numbers of large international companies and forwarders have chosen this region for their bases but the burgeoning trade with the USA is contributing considerably. Over the last three years, Germany, as a whole, has enjoyed increasing trade links with the USA with North Rhine Westphalia, playing a major role in this traffic sector, accounting for over 12% of the nation’s total exports and 13% imports. Traffic with America has grown steadily to the point where the USA is the airport’s leading cargo market.  Exports consist of largely machinery and mechanics (25%), chemical products (17%), metal based goods (16%), automotive (7.5%) and pharmaceuticals (6.4%).  On the import side, chemicals lead with 17%, followed by IT and optical (11.5%), machinery (9%), carbon based products (7.5%) and pharmaceuticals (6.5%). During the course of 2012,  an average of 40 flights per week were flying to the USA from Düsseldorf, rising to 46 weekly adjusting for seasonal variations. The six main regular non-stop routes plus local connections are New York- JFK and Newark, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Fort Myers. These routes are served by Air Berlin, Delta Airlines, Lufthansa and most recently, American Airlines.  All carriers operate wide bodied aircraft –B767-300, A330-200 and A340-300, mostly with an average capacity of over 12 tons per flight depending on aircraft and passenger load. Taking into account the onward distribution connections both within America and Europe, Düsseldorf plays a key role as a major driver of US trade. One of its advantages is it offers a network of over 180 international destinations as well as an efficient inter- city trucking network which opens up all markets in Northern Germany plus Benelux and the UK.  Thomas Schürmann, Manager, Marketing and Sales at Düsseldorf Airport Cargo underlines the reasons for the growth of the American market.  “We believe that the presence of many foreign companies in this  region  has attracted the big forwarders and logistics companies to take advantage of our transport facilities. Last year our tonnage reached around 103,000, whereas at the start of 2013 traffic was up by 19.2% over 2012 in the first quarter of 2013 and up by 6.8% in the second quarter. We are in the middle of an economic progression in the region and relationships with American shippers are excellent with every probability of continuing expansion in the coming years. We will of course continue to build traffic in other global markets and take advantage of emerging economic trends globally.” 8 August 2013