Project

Montana Airports Economic Impact Study

For the Montana Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the USDOT Federal Highway Administration, EBP (formerly EDR Group) analyzed the qualitative and quantitative impacts of the Montana airport system, which includes 79 airports. The assessment includes aviation-related and non-aviation-related businesses, visitor spending, capital expenditures on construction, and multiplier effects.

EBP served as the technical lead in defining the economic contribution of public-use airports to the economy of the state of Montana.  The study covers an analysis of airport operations and visitor spending for both commercial and general aviation airports. In addition, EBP developed analyses of how Montana’s airports serve shippers and business travelers across the state, and the value of Montana’s agricultural products protected by aerial applications. The firm created survey instruments, monitored the quality of data collection, and developed the analyses by applying the IMPLAN modeling package for regional and state economies, literature reviews, and interviews. EBP also utilized its ground-breaking vFreight tool to document the importance of goods moving in and out of Montana via air.