The Lehigh Valley is among the top 25 locations
nationwide for new warehouses, a New Jersey-based business location consulting
company says in a new report.
The Boyd Co., based in Princeton, ranked the Lehigh
Valley among regions near New York, Los Angeles and Seattle in its 2015
corporate site selection study.
The Lehigh Valley itself is considered a New York-area
location, with the region's port just 80 miles away, the Boyd study says. The
Lehigh Valley also is highly ranked because of its proximity to Philadelphia
and access to rail, company Principal John Boyd said.
The Boyd study officially names only Bethlehem on its
list of the country's top 25 logistics-friendly cities but considers a city to
include a 50-mile radius and therefore the entire Lehigh Valley, Boyd said.
"Bethlehem has really asserted itself as a premier
place for distribution," Boyd said.
Boyd Company chart .pngView full sizeIn the New York
region, Bethlehem's annual operating cost is the lowest, which is a major asset
for the region, The Boyd Company said.Courtesy image
In addition to rail and port proximity, the Boyd study
also considers both the cost of constructing and operating a warehouse. With
those factors, Bethlehem ranks 12 out of 25, with an annual operating cost of
$12.9 million for a 150-employee warehouse. Stoughton, Massachusetts - outside
of Boston - ranks the highest on the list with a $15 million annual operating
cost while Chesterfield, Virginia - outside of Richmond - is the lowest at
$11.3 million.
In the New York region, Bethlehem's annual operating cost
is the lowest, which is a major asset for the region, Boyd said. The other top
25 locations in the New York region - Newburgh, New York and the Meadowlands
and Bordentown, New Jersey - are all higher.
"With all the success (Bethlehem has) had, you've
been able to maintain cost competitiveness," Boyd said.
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. President and
CEO Don Cunningham said many business location companies consider the Lehigh
Valley prime for e-commerce warehouses. The e-commerce warehouses - also known
as logistics or fulfillment sites - are different from typical warehouses in
that they employ many more people, such as the 1,200-person Zulily warehouse
coming to Bethlehem, Cunningham said.
"The Lehigh Valley is on the national map as one of
the major spots for what they call intermodal transportation," he said.
"One-third of the consumers in the United States are within a day's drive
of the Lehigh Valley."
Local growth in the transportation sector in recent years
has been second only to health care, Cunningham said. The sector employees
almost 20,000 people in the region, with 5,000 of those jobs coming in the last
four years, he said. Many thousands more are expected to come online soon, with
Zulily, FedEx Ground in East Allen Township and a second Walmart distribution
center in Bethlehem, Cunningham said.
The growth in the field also has led to higher wages, up
from $10-$12 an hour a few years ago to $15-$16, Cunningham said. Boyd also
noted a growth in local industry wages.
While warehouses used to be looked upon unfavorably as an
economic development generator in many communities, that is changing, Boyd
said. In recent years, most new warehouses also include some higher-paying
office jobs and some even incorporate later-stage assembly, he said.
"The hottest industry right now is distribution, for
both high-paying and low-paying jobs, and they pay a tremendous amount of
property taxes," he said.
Even facilities with only typical warehouse jobs are good
to attract because companies often consider expanding near existing locations
first, Boyd said.
"It's forging a relationship with these major
corporations," he said.
The Boyd Company has worked with many companies that have
opened warehouses in the Lehigh Valley and are working with some now currently
considering facilities.
"There are really, really exciting ones, ones that
incorporate final assembly," Boyd said.
Source: Lehigh
Valley Live
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