Kentucky gets some love from a logistics-oriented website because of the companies here and the fortunate geography that allows goods to be shipped from here effectively:
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Kentucky leads the line-up of great U.S. logistics sites. “Kentucky is at the center of a 34-state distribution area,” says Larry Hayes, secretary, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Two-thirds of the U.S. population lies within one day’s drive of Kentucky, but the state’s logistics assets are by no means limited to over-the-road traffic. For example, Louisville International Airport houses UPS’s worldwide air hub.
“If you are eating fresh lobster in Singapore, it probably spent last night in Louisville,” says Hayes.
Kentucky’s strategic logistics location helps explain the concentration of third-party distribution facilities near Louisville International Airport and the Greater Cincinnati Airport in Florence, Ky., located minutes away from DHL Worldwide Express operations in Erlanger, Ky.
“The two facilities give shippers global reach,” says Hayes. “More than 200 flights leave Kentucky daily to every part of the world.”
The presence of UPS, DHL, and other logistics providers has earned Kentucky recognition among global logistics professionals. “Kentucky’s role in global logistics is acknowledged abroad,” says Hayes. “Distribution has become a major industry in Kentucky; so has automobile and truck manufacturing. There’s more to the state than bourbon and horses.”
Although much of the state is rural, local communities are accustomed to foreign companies having a major presence. Thirty percent of new investment, and more than 20 percent of new jobs announced in the state in 2011, resulted from foreign direct investment (FDI)—investment by foreign-owned companies.
“Kentucky has the second-highest number of Japanese-owned businesses in the United States per capita, after Hawaii,” Hayes says. “Many Americans might be surprised to learn that.”
Read the full story:Â Inbound Logistics
