Transportation accessibility and changes in transportation technology have always been paramount to community economic development. America's first great commercial centers developed around seaports. Next came riverine and canal-linked cities that formed the backbone of America's industrial revolution. Railroads fostered the third wave of state and local economic development, opening up America's land-locked interior to manufacturing and trade. Major centers of goods processing and distribution emerged at rail hubs, generating massive numbers of jobs and commercial activity at these terminal and break-in-bulk points. In fact, the contemporary South's largest commercial center, Atlanta, developed as a railway hub and was initially known as Terminus. The fourth wave of economic development was spawned by highways and the shift to cars and trucks to move people and goods. With the introduction of freeways, beltways, expressways and interstate highways, massive deconcentration of economic activity commenced. Major suburban commercial centers developed and previously inaccessible rural communities along the interstates had new economic life pumped into them, while those that remained isolated stagnated. We are now entering the fifth, and perhaps most opportune, economic era where international markets and international sourcing will play increasingly dominant roles, and speed will become a critical competitive factor. This new era is being ushered in by three irreversible forces of immense significance: the globalization of economic transactions; fundamental changes in manufacturing methods from producing large, uniform batches to making customized goods on short notice and to just-in-time processes that substantially cut production and delivery cycles to minimize inventory costs; and a growing requirement of business to ship products by air rather than by surface. The combined thrust of these interacting forces is creating an entirely new economy where aviation and airports will ultimately supplant seaports, rail and highway systems as the primary job and wealth generators for states and localities. North Carolina's ability to maximize indigenous commercial growth, expand exports, and attract major investment from around the country and the world will require an understanding of the new global economy and the forces creating it. Competitive success will also require vision and pro-action regarding the pivotal role aviation will play. After briefly describing the forces shaping the new economy, this article describes the concept of a global air cargo-industrial complex that would exploit these forces to provide North Carolina with an edge in capturing a disproportionate share of the nation's future economic development
