Available, affordable land and access to a productive workforce, has led to Edwardsville being one of the
more desirable locations in the St. Louis region for logistics and distribution operations. Edwardsville is home to
Gateway Commerce Center and its many large warehouse operations like Proctor & Gamble, Hershey, Unilever, Dial, and more.
It is also home to Lakeview Commerce Park and its state of the art bulk distribution facility.
Much of Edwardsville’s success in attracting logistics operations to the area is due to the St. Louis region’s reputation
and location. The St. Louis region is one of the few regions nationwide that enjoys convenient access to four modes
of transportation: road, rail, water, air. The availability of so many options provides the community with some of the
lowest shipping costs in the country due to the region’s status as one of the leading gateways for freight flow and its
position at the crossroads for Norfolk and Southern Network, CSX Intermodal and BNSF Intermodal network. For these reasons
and more, Site Selection Magazine has included St. Louis at the top of its list (#2) of Most Logistics Friendly Cities
America.
According to a study by the St. Onge Company, for distribution centers, “St. Louis has the lowest operating costs among
several central U.S. cities traditionally considered prime distribution hubs.”
The study looked at all occupancy costs, taking into account labor productivity — the amount of revenue generated per dollar
of labor compensation paid —it found that the productivity of the St. Louis area work force was so superior that St. Louis
was the least-cost option when all costs were combined. The area’s advantage is especially pronounced in
warehouse-related positions, where productivity measures are 10 percent above the national average and higher than all
competing cities in the Midwest/Middle South. In addition, productivity levels are higher than the national norm whether
measured by local truckload, less-than-truckload, or long-distance truckload.
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