Amazon to build air cargo hub outside Cincinnati

An Amazon-branded Boeing 767 freighter flies over Lake Washington in Seattle, Washington.

2,000 jobs could be created as Amazon moves toward delivering its own packages.

Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday it plans to build its first air cargo hub to accommodate its growing fleet of planes, signaling the company is ramping up its expansion into transporting, sorting and delivering its own packages.

The Seattle-based retailer said it expects the new air hub, located at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport in Hebron, Ky., to create more than 2,000 jobs. The move will lessen its dependence on traditional carriers, including United Parcel Service Inc. UPS, -6.75% and FedEx Corp. FDX, -2.14% , both of whose largest hubs are nearby.

Last year, Amazon AMZN, -0.83% said it was planning to lease 40 cargo planes, 16 of which are currently in its fleet. It also brought on a dedicated network of 4,000 semi trailers to increase trucking capacity and has a fleet of citizen courier Flex drivers making deliveries in major metro areas.

Amazon’s goal is to eventually haul and deliver packages for itself as well as other retailers and consumers — making it a direct competitor with UPS and FedEx, according to people familiar with the matter.