ROCKFORD, Ill. — Cargo business is poised to maintain its upward trajectory at Rockford’s airport, which has positioned itself as a spoke in the airfreight network that Amazon is building so it can deliver its products without relying solely on traditional shippers such as UPS and FedEx.

Jim Onley logged more than a million miles behind the wheel during his more than three-decade career as a truck driver, but a letter delivered to his New Milford, Ill., home in April stopped him in his tracks.

More than 1.3 billion pounds of cargo made its way through Chicago Rockford International Airport last year, a nearly 50% increase over 2016.

More jobs and cash have landed at Chicago Rockford International Airport, where cargo volume is up nearly 40% for the first six months of the year compared with the first half of 2016.