22 >> 20


Issue 6 2018 - FBJNA


the report says. “In d us trial development


in Kansas City has trailed only


Service and a proposed hyper- loop between Kansas City and St. Louis. “It’s pretty interesting to see multiple different vehicles pull


warehouses at one of our logistics parks, customers can reduce their transportation costs through lower drayage charges and more truck turns, enabling them to burn less fuel and reduce their carbon footprint.” Summing up, Gutierrez says, “I think companies at any level, whether they’re manufacturers or distribution centers, are looking at that next wave of efficiencies and automation.”


A train crosses a bridge near Kansas City. (KC SmartPort photo)


Chicago in the Midwest over the last several years.” Commenting on Kansas City’s


biggest competitor, Gutierrez says, “Chicago’s got a lot of congestion issues. We don’t at this point. We don’t think we’re going to get there.”


Still, as Tanner says, “Our success depends on finding new


up,” he says. Other challenges include


finding enough workforce and navigating politics. “Companies are paying close


attention to what’s happening, whether it’s tariffs, renegotiating NAFTA, and other things,” says Gutierrez. “We sit right in the middle of North America, so


Chicago


In July, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced


a $169 million distribution project on 196 acres


to the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), the airport is “expected to process well over 2 million tonnes of freight moving forward—up 10% from 2017. At the heart of its freight


expansion is the Northeast Cargo Center, the largest airside cargo development in the nation in the last 10 years. Phase I of the three-phase, $222 million facility opened in 2016. Phase II, which included 747-8 capable aircraſt ramps, was completed in August 2017 and provided 50% additional capacity to handle cargo from freighters. Phase III is expected to be completed by 2020. When completed, the Center will


“We have an immediate cost


advantage when shipping raw materials and finished goods.” --Colby Tanner, BNSF


of Chicago’s South Side. The massive development, which calls for constructing six buildings totaling 2.2 million square feet, will complement the adjacent 155- acre supplier complex that serves Ford’s nearby assembly plant. When completed, the project will become Chicago’s largest industrial park. Add to that 2003’s Chicago


BNSF at Logistics Park Kansas City. (BNSF photo)


ways to extend our services deeper into our customers’ supply chains and looking at how we can help shippers minimize the total cost of distribution to their customers.” How? Technological and


distribution shiſts and what you might call alternative locations. “In Kansas City,” Gutierrez says,


“you see people talking about infill. We need a distribution center right in the downtown corridor to serve that last mile. How do you do that in a downtown setting? By developing buildings, and repositioning malls and retail stores.” Gutierrez mentions other


technology and last-mile developments that include Amazon’s new Delivery Partner


NAFTA is important to us.” Kansas City Southern railroad


is headquartered in Kansas City, which is the NAFTA railroad. “All of those things are being


closely monitored,” he says, “but I would say it hasn’t affected our business yet. Where it goes and how it continues -- everybody’s paying close attention to it and being very cautious about how it moves. But right now we’re in a good position.” The best position for Kansas


City, however, still remains its location as the “heartland hub with global reach.” “We have an immediate


cost advantage when shipping raw materials


and finished


goods,” Tanner says. “By locating distribution centers or


KLM Cargo loads up at Chicago’s ORD. (CDA photo)


money spent or financed. In July, Railway Age reported


that while the city already handles a quarter of U.S. freight-rail traffic and nearly half of all intermodal traffic, CREATE will add more. The City of the Broad Shoulders expects to shoulder “up to 50,000 more freight trains per year by 2051,” the publication says. Meanwhile


robust expansions are underway at


O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to process greater volumes of freight. ORD processes $200 billion of


KLM Cargo is ready and open for freight at Chicago’s ORD. (CDA photo)


freight annually, earning O’Hare the title of being among the world’s top 25 cargo airports. According


handling 40+ jumbo freighters at once, in addition to the 25 cargo airlines operating at O’Hare today; and “miles and miles” of freight forwarders and trucking companies. “With a brand new state-of-the-


art cargo campus close to transit, we are in a good place right now to keep air cargo strong at O’Hare for many years to come,” says CDA. “This translates into thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefit to Chicago.” With that, the CDA says,


“Chicago has met the No. 1 challenge we faced: ensuring the capacity needed to keep up with air cargo demand.”


Region Environmental and Transportation


Efficiency


(CREATE) plan that calls for $4.4 billion in infrastructure projects. So far, more than two dozen of 70 rail and highway projects are completed, with at least half the


encompass 915,000 square feet of warehousing/office space and apron pavements. This will make it possible for the airport to handle as many as 13 of the world’s largest freight aircraſt, officials say. “Based on the rate at which


capacity is filling up, our next task will be to ensure O’Hare can sustain our continued growth over the next couple of decades,” say CDA officials. In addition to the nearly


completed Center, other assets at ORD include four new runways and a reconfigured airfield; 2 million square feet of airside cargo buildings capable of


///MIDWEST No horseplay for Midwest inland ports


Inland ports aren’t horsing around. Take Rickenbacker International Airport, for instance. About 15 miles from


downtown Columbus, Ohio, Rickenbacker recently completed a $423,000 upgrade to its animal-transport facility,


David Lancaster, Director of


Cargo Development at Lambert St. Louis International Airport, and Tim Cantwell, Director of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, agree. “Forwarders have focused


their investment on these hubs to access this capacity,”


“We have a reputation for moving goods through the facility quickly.”


-- David Whitaker, Columbus Regional Airport Authority.


where high-valued horses cool their hoofs in 12 stalls during the USDA-mandated rest period before boarding. Speaking of horsepower,


Rickenbacker helped Ford through a crisis that could have reined in production of its 385- hp F-150 trucks. In May, the nation’s


largest automaker turned to Rickenbacker aſter a fire gutted its Eaton Rapids, Mich., plant. Ford needed to move a rescued 87,000-pound tooling die to the United Kingdom. Rickenbacker, just 4.5 hours from the destroyed plant, can accommodate the Antonov An- 124, the behemoth cargo plane that could handle the load. The entire move took 30 hours, including the transatlantic flight. “We have a reputation for


moving goods through the facility quickly, getting them to their destination quickly and efficiently, and that’s rare,” says David Whitaker, Chief Commercial Officer of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. Meanwhile, at Ports of


Indiana, Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan and Jeffersonville are each undergoing $20 million expansions. With a third port, in Mount Vernon, Ports of Indiana is the only statewide port authority that connects the inland river system to the Great Lakes. “We’re also looking at building


a new port in the Cincinnati market,” says Jody Peacock, Senior Vice President. “I don’t think that’s anything anybody else is doing. “People see it as a


disadvantage to try to operate a port 600 miles from the ocean. We see it as our key value proposition.”


Lancaster says. “And for good reason: The freighter operators also want to be where the forwarders are. It’s no surprise that the integrator hubs are all essentially in the Midwest rather than on the coasts. “


A Cargolux horse stall saddles up at Rickenbacker International Airport. (Columbus Regional Airport Authority photo)


Adds Cantwell: “If you


want the congestion and competition from the Chicago area, go to Chicago. If you want to be serving low-density metropolitan areas go to K.C. if you want to be centrally located, be the defining element in the middle of the country, a 10- hour reach to over 200 million people, you might just want to view MidAmerica as you next logistics node.” BNSF’s Colby Tanner,


Assistant President of Economic Development, sums up: “Major retailers see the benefits of inland ports. Many of these companies have been able to save money by consolidating multiple distribution centers into a smaller number


of


hubs at inland ports. Smaller companies take notice and follow suit, which leads to expanded


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24