
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994                   TAG: 9410050036
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE VALLEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Although passenger traffic at Roanoke Regional Airport was nearly flat in August compared with July, cargo grew a healthy 16 percent, according to statistics reported Monday by the airport's commission. And, while passenger traffic rose 16 percent from August 1993, the amount of cargo rose 44 percent.

"It's a trend in air freight generally," said Mark Courtney, the airport's marketing director. "The major carriers are expanding into smaller regions."

Also Monday, Federal Express, the Memphis, Tenn.-based air delivery service, became the fifth carrier dedicated to air cargo to operate daily flights at the Roanoke airport.

Cargo, which includes both air freight and air mail, has grown 22 percent in the first eight months of this year, to 22.7 million pounds, compared with 18.5 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

by CNB