Maersk announced Thursday that it has established a new Chicago Air Freight Gateway near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
The gateway is designed to offer direct planeside recovery, the company said, with immediate transfers to the new facility. An estimated 70 percent of the United States is within an overnight truck drive from the gateway, the company said, enabling shipments from Asia and Europe to quickly reach their destination. The new facility will also serve as Maersk’s air cargo hub in Rockford International Airport.
“We want to expand our air freight presence and logistics services in key locations, and today’s Chicago inauguration is an important step in our integrated offering to customers,” said Mike Meierkort, Regional Head of Maersk North America Logistics and Services. “We want to create more routing options and flexibility for customers looking to improve their air cargo supply chains. Our new Chicago Air Freight Gateway offers an integrated supply chain solution to time-critical shipments and order fulfillment deadlines.”
The facility is a Bonded Container Freight Station (CFS) with U.S. Customs. It will operate as a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) for secure and timely handling of air freight.
Import cargo, the company said, will be ready for delivery within 24 hours of its arrival at the ORD gateway. For export cargo, the time taken from arrival at ORG to tender and the carrier will also be no longer than 24 hours. Both time estimates are pending carrier booking, the company said.