Logistics, Choose New Jersey

A DYNAMIC LOGISTICS HUB. Why has New Jersey become one of the world’s fastest-growing hubs for logistics and distribution? It’s simple. Our perfect location and world-class transportation infrastructure make it easy to move products throughout the region and around the world. That’s why the number of logistics and distribution centers moving to or expanding in New Jersey is no accident. It’s strategic. Powerhouse companies like Amazon, Goya Foods, Destination Maternity, Williams-Sonoma, Volkswagen, Barnes & Noble, Coca Cola, The Home Depot, IKEA, W.W. Grainger, Hyundai, Crate & Barrel, Five Below and Wakefern Food Corporation, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the U.S., all have major distribution centers here. In fact, New Jersey’s transportation and distribution sector contributed more than $58.4 billion to the State’s Real Gross Domestic Product in 2016, the fourth highest dollar amount per state in the US. More than 382,200 workers were employed in the sector in 2016 – more than 11% of the State’s private sector workforce – and the number is growing. Since 2015 alone, New Jersey had a net gain of 21,600 jobs in the sector. That number is expected to continue to increase driven by the growth of e-commerce and international trade. A PERFECT LOCATION FOR SAME-DAY DELIVERIES. When it comes to e-commerce and same-day deliveries, it is all about location and market access. New Jersey offers companies both. A distribution center in central New Jersey can reach more than 22 million consumers with a disposable income of $800 billion within a 2-hour drive. Plus, you can reach 40% of the US population within a day’s drive from any location in our State. It’s no wonder companies that rely on same-day deliveries believe that a New Jersey location gives them a strategic advantage. E-commerce giant, Amazon, certainly does. It opened its first New Jersey fulfillment center in June 2014 – a 1.2 million-square-foot facility in Robbinsville. Today, Amazon’s footprint includes fulfillment and distribution centers in Carteret, Florence, Logan Township and Woodbridge, with new facilities on track to open in Cranbury, Edison and another in Logan Township in 2017. In fact, more Amazon workers were employed in New Jersey in 2017 than any U.S. state but Washington and California. Amazon is not alone. Online retailer Jet.com leased an additional 705,000-square-foot distribution center in South Jersey to position itself for overnight deliveries in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. Blue Apron, Wayfair and Boxed are among the many e-commerce companies that have committed to major distribution facilities in New Jersey. WHERE PERFECT LOCATION MEETS AFFORDABLE SPACE. While many companies choose New Jersey for its strategic location, others are equally attracted to its affordable real estate, which offers them a good deal more space for the money than neighboring New York. For example, online grocery seller Peapod discovered it could double its capacity by choosing a distribution facility in New Jersey to service their customers in New York City. In the summer of 2014, the company opened a 300,00-square-foot facility in Jersey City to serve its 21 million online shoppers. Demand for warehouse and distribution space continues to be strong. In the first half of 2017, more than 5.1 million square feet of space was delivered to New Jersey’s industrial inventory, already exceeding the total of 4.2 million square feet achieved throughout all of 2016 and more than 27% more than in 2015. Based on the strong demand, another 7.6 million square feet of industrial space was under construction in the first half of 2017, most of which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Companies are discovering that New Jersey’s optimal location offers access via road, rail, air or sea to virtually every place on the planet. Major Companies with Distribution Centers in NJ. World Class Seaports. New Jersey is home to one of America’s busiest seaports – the Port of New York and New Jersey – making it easy for companies to reach national and international markets. The deep-water ports of Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne in New Jersey, when combined with the Port of Authority’s regional air cargo network, serve as a North American gateway for international freight and leading hub for domestic cargo. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with its shipping terminals, container ship companies and railroad, have undertaken major capital projects and infrastructure improvements over the past several years in preparation for the neo-Panamax era. For example, to accommodate the super-sized container ships that began traversing the widened and deepened Panama Canal in 2016, the Port Authority embarked on a $1.3 billion project to raise the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge at Port Newark/Elizabeth. The project pushed the bridge’s clearance up to 215 feet to accommodate the high capacity container ships coming from Asia to the East Coast through the expanded Panama Canal. As of June 2017, containerships carrying up to 18,000 twenty-foot equivalency units (TEUs) – nearly twice the size of previous containerships – have been authorized to sail beneath the bridge to call on terminals in Port Elizabeth and Port Newark. In September 2017, the 14,414 TEU cargo vessel, T. Roosevelt, arrived in Port Elizabeth. It was the largest ship to traverse the Panama Canal to arrive at a U.S. East Coast port. The Bayonne Bridge project, along with major projects to expand rail and roadway capacity into and out of the ports, ensure New Jersey’s ports are ready for future trade activity.