2 airports note rise in passenger traffic
Passenger traffic at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock totaled 201,787 in October, a 3.28% increase over the 195,374 passengers the airport saw in the same month in 2018.
October marked the fourth month in the past six that passenger traffic exceeded 200,000 at the state's largest airport. In contrast, Clinton National saw that total exceeded just twice in 2018. Before that, July 2014 was the last time a month saw more than 200,000 passengers.
Through the first 10 months of the year, passenger traffic has risen 5.38% to 1,874,435. The total is 95,758 more than the 1,778,677 passengers who went through Clinton National in the first 10 months in 2018.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill, the state's second-largest, also continued to see robust passenger growth.
In October, 172,931 passengers went through the airport, a 15.59% increase over the same month a year ago. For the first 10 months of the year, Northwest Arkansas Regional saw 1,538,478 passengers, a 16.82% increase compared with the first 10 months of 2018.
-- Noel Oman
Mississippi facility in Amazon's plans
OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. -- Amazon plans to open a fulfillment center in the northwest Mississippi town of Olive Branch.
A statement issued Monday by the Mississippi Development Authority said the facility will create 500 full-time jobs in DeSoto County.
The company plans to lease a 1 million-square-foot building where workers will ship large items, including household goods, patio furniture, bicycles and sports equipment.
Amazon spokesman Owen Torres said the company does not have an opening date for the center.
The state development agency said it and DeSoto County are providing assistance for road improvements, and the county is providing additional support.
The announcement comes 11 months after Amazon said a similar facility in Marshall County, also in northern Mississippi, would create 850 jobs over three years in the area.
-- The Associated Press
Gaining 4.37, index closes day at 465.94
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Monday at 465.94, up 4.37.
"U.S. stocks flopped around on Monday, finishing slightly higher on another agonizing replay of the potential for any substantive deal relating to the U.S.-China trade discussions," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 11/19/2019