For the 18th straight year, Memphis International Airport held its position as the world’s busiest for cargo. Before the recession dampened global demand, some had predicted that Hong Kong could overtake the Tennessee airport. FedEx Corp.’s home airport actually widened the gap with Hong Kong, due to a drop in shipments from Asia as well as the boost it received from the closure of Deutsche Post AG’s DHL unit, which halted its U.S. domestic operations in late 2008 and early 2009.

FedEx Corp.’s Memphis, Tenn., home airport remained the world’s busiest for cargo for the 18th straight year as the gap with Hong Kong widened because of a drop in shipments from Asia, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Memphis International Airport handled 3.698 million metric tons of freight in 2009, a gain of 0.04% from 2008, according to airport data, while Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo traffic fell 7.7% to 3.35 million metric tons, Bloomberg said.

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