In 1858, the mainstay of El Paso’s transportation system was the Butterfield Trail officially known as the Butterfield Overland Mail Route.

      The Butterfield Overland Mail Company, a central feature in El Paso’s transportation heritage, operated for only three years carrying passengers from Tipton Mo. to San Francisco, Calif. Historical sources tell us the 2,800-mile trip was run in 25 days, “guaranteed”.

      Today, just a few yards from the old trail, stands El Paso’s Butterfield Trail Air Cargo Center.  Like its predecessor, the Butterfield Trail Cargo Center also boasts a guarantee.  The 21st century promise, however, is now measured in hours, not days.

      The classic lines of the stagecoach have been replaced by the graceful contours and bright colors of modern aircraft, and horse power has been replaced by Pratt & Whitney, General Electric and other makers of jet engine technology.

Air cargo: a vital economic component

      Air cargo, a keystone of the borderplex economy remains somewhat of a mystery to most residents of the tri-state region.

      A 747 full of vacuum cleaner parts, operating non-stop from Shanghai to El Paso, is not an everyday event, but it is illustrative of the global reach provided by El Paso International Airport’s air cargo capability.

      In terms of ton miles (one ton moved one mile), air cargo would appear to be a small player in the inter-modal system carrying less than 1 percent of the nation’s cargo.  However, when dollar value is considered, the tables shift.

      In 2004 the monetary value of a ton of air cargo exceeded $82,000.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation statistics, air cargo accounts for 27 percent of the dollar value of U.S./International merchandise trade.

  A simple conclusion is that absent access to a vital air cargo system the El Paso/Juarez borderplex cannot expect to be a high card player in the business of global high value trade and commerce.

            Where El Paso once leveraged its geographical midpoint on the Butterfield Trail and the Southern Pacific Railroad, it now has major investments in air cargo facilities second to none ...

...Continued in the pages of Twin Plant News, Subscribe Today!