# Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)

> Chicago, US · IATA: ORD · ICAO: KORD · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `ORD` |
| ICAO | `KORD` |
| City | Chicago |
| Country | US |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 207 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| Cargo Rank | #6 |
| GPS | 41.97860, -87.90480 |

## Description

By tonnage, Chicago O'Hare ranks only sixth in North America; by the value of the goods crossing its ramps – more than 200 billion dollars a year, placing it in the global top 20 – it is the United States' number one. ORD handled over two million tonnes of freight in 2025 on preliminary figures, and demand keeps climbing: handler Worldwide Flight Services reported a 28 percent volume surge in the first half of 2025 and is adding warehouse space. The United and American hub also moves roughly 80 million passengers a year, whose widebody fleets supply deep belly capacity to Europe and Asia. Scheduled freighters from Cathay Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, Cargolux, Emirates SkyCargo, Atlas Air, Kalitta, Polar and Nippon Cargo Airlines work the ramps alongside FedEx and UPS. A new cargo campus on the northeast airfield lifted freighter capacity by roughly 50 percent, adding to three existing cargo ramps on the south side, all handling pharma, perishables and dangerous goods inside Foreign-Trade Zone 22 with 24/7 CBP clearance. Since April 2026 the FAA has capped O'Hare at 2,708 summer-day operations to ease congestion, a move freight forwarders' groups such as the Airforwarders Association have criticised, while the 80-million-dollar MKE Air Cargo Center in Milwaukee is emerging as a regional relief valve. Ground connectivity seals the case: I-90, I-190 and I-294 reach the perimeter, and all six North American Class I railroads converge on metropolitan Chicago. The code ORD recalls Orchard Field, the apple orchard that became the continent's most valuable air-freight gateway.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/chicago-ohare-international-airport-ord](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/chicago-ohare-international-airport-ord)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/chicago-ohare-international-airport-ord](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/chicago-ohare-international-airport-ord)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/chicago-ohare-international-airport-ord/llm-summary*