MIAMI - On January 11, Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) officials met with more than 30 local air cargo industry stakeholders for its first strategy workshop, with the goal of establishing Miami-Dade County as one of the world’s leading e-commerce hubs.

As America’s busiest airport for international freight, with more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport, Miami International Airport is uniquely poised to leverage the e-commerce boom responsible for $1.85 trillion in worldwide sales in 2016 – a figure that is projected to double in the next four years. Market research firm eMarketer forecasts Latin America to be a strong e-commerce growth region during that span, with a projected doubling of annual sales from $47.4 billion in 2015 to $84.8 billion in 2019.

Additionally, MIA’s overall trade with Asia – the world’s e-commerce leader at more than $1 trillion in sales annually – has grown 40 percent in value from $4.8 billion in 2011 to $6.7 billion in 2016.

“I appreciate the MIA team for leading the charge to make Miami-Dade County not only the e-commerce hub of the Americas, but a global leader as well in one of the world’s largest growth industries,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. 

Local representatives from cargo carriers and industry advocacy groups heard presentations from e-commerce experts and participated in break-out sessions, to gain a better understanding of e-commerce trends, regulations, challenges and potential collaborative opportunities. At the close of the workshop, MDAD Chief of Staff Joseph Napoli invited attendees to move the initiative forward through the creation of an e-commerce task force, which will hold its first meeting before the end of February.

“As the cargo gateway of the Americas, and given our increasing trade growth with leading e-commerce regions like Asia and Europe, MIA is perfectly positioned to become an e-commerce powerhouse,” said MDAD Chief of Staff Joseph Napoli. “We look forward to collaborating with our task force partners to develop and implement a strategy that capitalizes on this seismic shift in the air cargo industry.”More than 30 industry leaders discussed how to leverage online retail boom