The Freightway

This article originally ran in Site Selection Magazine in July 2022.  Sometime later this year, a century-old rail bridge that crosses the Mississippi River at St. Louis is expected to reopen after a four-year transformation. Originally opened in 1899, the Merchants Bridge is a key link in one of the primary East-West rail corridors in the country, leading into and out […]

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This article originally ran in the St. Louis Business Journal on July 6, 2022.  A maker of waffle products is opening a $35 million, 147,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in Hazelwood. Marson Foods, based in Carson City, Nevada, will lease the space at 1590 Tradeport Drive in the Hazelwood TradePort industrial park, which is owned by Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development, […]

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You are invited to participate in a survey conducted by the Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Research Center (SCR3) at the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) with the support the St. Louis Regional Freightway. The research objective is to understand the supply chain challenges faced by businesses in the St. Louis region during the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategies that […]

The post Take the Survey from UMSL’s Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Research Center (SCR3): Supply Chain Challenges During COVID appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

This article originally ran in the St. Louis Business Journal on June 30, 2022.  Zbigniew and Agnes Matukin didn’t plan to start a business when they immigrated from Poland to the United States. Now they’ve built their company and related business entities to about 130 employees with annual revenue of $20 million. The Matukins formed a trucking company and chose […]

The post Choosing south St. Louis County as their base, Polish immigrants build a trucking company from scratch appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

This article originally ran on globenewswire.com on June 27, 2022.  Construction of the Facility Estimated to be Completed in 2023 and Add 40 Jobs. Farmer and retailer demand for an innovative and highly efficient, U.S. produced phosphate fertilizer, is increasing every day. As a result, Ostara is building a new facility to produce its platform product, Crystal Green®, a highly efficient […]

The post Ostara to Build 200,000 Ton Fertilizer Production Facility in St. Louis appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

This article originally ran on StlToday.com on June 13, 2022.  A new report studying pandemic-related supply chain problems recommends that Missouri become an American hub for building shipping containers. According to a draft copy of the report issued by Gov. Mike Parson’s Supply Chain Task Force, the state could subsidize companies that build the steel containers, which are used to transport […]

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This article originally ran in the St. Louis Business Journal on June 10, 2022.  A publicly traded industrial real estate trust with a growing presence in St. Louis has purchased an industrial building in St. Louis County for $8.5 million. Plymouth Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE:PLYM), based in Boston, purchased 1901-1939 Belt Way Drive in Overland this spring, according to […]

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This article originally ran in the St. Louis Business Journal on June 6, 2022.  The first two warehouses in a new Maryland Heights industrial park are fully leased even before construction is finished, and developers are moving ahead of schedule on construction of a third building. Developers TriStar Properties of Creve Coeur and PCCP of Los Angeles announced plans last summer […]

The post Maryland Heights warehouses fully leased while under construction, showing need for more central warehouse space, broker says appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

A 60-mile stretch of Illinois (IL) Route 3 generates $16 billion in annual business revenue and supports 221,881 direct and indirect jobs, according to a new economic impact study commissioned by the St. Louis Regional Freightway. The Route 3 corridor in southwestern Illinois is parallel to St. Louis, Missouri along the Mississippi River and Interstate 255, and goes from Waterloo, Illinois, in the south to Godfrey Illinois, to the north. It is gaining recognition as a premiere heavy industry and warehousing corridor with distinct advantages over other areas around the country, such as the percentage of the direct jobs in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing that greatly eclipse the regional and national averages for jobs in those sectors.

The post FreightWeekSTL: New Study Reveals Illinois Route 3 Near St. Louis Is Positioned as a Nationally Significant Heavy Industrial Corridor appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The St. Louis region’s industrial real estate market continues to rise to meet the demand for modern bulk and manufacturing spaces with record levels of construction. The annual report released by the St. Louis Regional Freightway reveals the southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri region has nearly 8 million square feet (MSF) of modern bulk buildings under construction and is well positioned to meet the current and growing needs of distributors and developers. The level of speculative development in the region also is indicative of the strength and value of the market, as is the growing number of major national institutional grade owners with a presence in the region.

The post FreightWeekSTL: Modern Bulk Distribution Buildings Under Construction in the St. Louis Region Hit Historic High, Approaching 8 Million Square Feet appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The long range vision of a reconstructed, higher capacity Interstate 70 (I-70) between Kansas City and the St. Louis area is coming into sharper focus thanks to a new partnership between Kansas City SmartPort and the St. Louis Regional Freightway. The two organizations have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to demonstrate their commitment to support improvements to Missouri’s east-west statewide I-70 corridor which is vital to the global supply chains for many industries. A catalyst for the new collaboration is the inclusion of a financial placeholder for the reconstruction of and added capacity on I-70 among the Missouri Department of Transportation's recently released High Priority Unfunded Needs.

The post FreightWeekSTL: New Partnership Between Kansas City and the St. Louis Region Supports Interstate 70 Corridor Improvements appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2023 Priority Projects List includes 25 projects representing a total investment of more than $3.8 billion, up from $2.75 billion last year. More than $2 billion of the total covers infrastructure projects that have recently been completed, are already funded and under construction or expected to start in 2022 and 2023, or are programmed to begin within the next few years. The list, which represents the infrastructure needs of the manufacturing and logistics industries in the Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois area, indicates tremendous progress on a range of projects that will strengthen critical roads, bridges, rail infrastructure, and port and airport facilities across the bi-state St. Louis region.

The post FreightWeekSTL: St. Louis Regional Freightway’s 2023 Priority Projects List Totals $3.8 Billion appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

More than a half a billion dollars in recent, current or expected improvements at three Midwestern ports will strengthen these facilities and reinforce their important roles in the global freight network. The significant investments at Port KC, America’s Central Port, and Kaskaskia Regional Port District, along with new infrastructure funding recently secured, will spur an increase in barge services and deliver cost efficiencies that drive profitability for the industry. Port KC is located on the Missouri River. America’s Central Port is on the Mississippi River and the Kaskaskia Regional Port District serves both the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers.

The post FreightWeekSTL: Major Infrastructure Investments Strengthen Midwest Ports, Boost Capacity and Increase Profitability for the Barge Industry appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

An unprecedented disruption in the global supply chain due to the COVID-19 pandemic is still having a major impact on many U.S. industries. Freight rail has had to adapt daily over the last two years to keep goods moving, and Union Pacific Railroad is taking its lessons learned, investing in adding more capacity and committing to moving more intermodal freight. That commitment includes investing $600 million of capital in 2022 alone as the company works to add more than one million lifts to the intermodal franchise and ramps up hiring so resources match demand. The various ways that Union Pacific continues to adapt and invest to keep freight moving were the focus of one of the panel discussions during FreightWeekSTL 2022.

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This article originally ran in the Waterways Journal Weekly on May 20, 2022.  Local general contractor Alberici Constructors Inc. expected to wait years to bid for the Mississippi River dam project in Winfield. But thanks to the $1 trillion federal infrastructure deal, the Army Corps of Engineers moved the upgrade of Lock and Dam 25 to 2022. The project is a […]

The post Jefferson County Port Gets $25 Million State Grant For Container Facility appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The St. Louis region will become part of one of the world’s most comprehensive port networks when the development team that includes APM Terminals opens a planned Container-on-Vessel (COV) port south of St. Louis, Missouri, in the Herculaneum area. APM Terminals serves 10,000 customers around the world, moving products through 76 terminals in its global network. APM Terminals will be working to line up shippers to use the new port and will also be the operator of a planned container terminal and intermodal rail facility at Plaquemines Port, Harbor and Terminal District, located south of New Orleans. These two ports will be critical hubs on a new, all-water, north-south trade lane connecting the Midwest and the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and on to worldwide destinations. The APM Terminal development project was the focus of the May 24th FreightWeekSTL 2022 session.

The post FreightWeekSTL: St. Louis Region Poised to Join One of the World’s Most Comprehensive Port Networks appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The collaborative effort to launch the first of its kind patented Container-on-Vessel (COV) service to the Midwest continues to make great progress, with several key milestones being reached in recent weeks. Work is already getting underway to prepare for the safe debut of the patented vessels, which will operate on a new, all-water, north-south trade lane connecting the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and on to worldwide destinations.

The post FreightWeekSTL: Maritime Industry Begins Preparations for Future Launch of Container-on-vessel Service to the Midwest appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

FreightWeekSTL 2022 kicked off May 23 with Innovation Day, featuring emerging technologies that have the potential to dramatically change the future movement of freight. The opening session highlighted the advancements being made by St. Louis start-up Intramotev Autonomous Rail. Those in attendance learned about an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar that would be able to operate without the use of a locomotive. That new technology could enable better use of the U.S. freight rail network and help mitigate the type of supply chain challenges occurring around the globe, while reducing pollution in the rail industry.

The post FreightWeekSTL: St. Louis-based Tech Start-up Aims to Help Make Railroads Competitive for the Next 200 Years Through New Autonomous Railcars appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

This article originally ran on StlToday.com on May 19, 2022.  Local general contractor Alberici Constructors Inc. expected to wait years to bid for the Mississippi River dam project in Winfield. But thanks to the $1 trillion federal infrastructure deal, the Army Corps of Engineers moved the upgrade of Lock and Dam 25 to 2022. The project is a trickle of what […]

The post New roads, new dams: St. Louis gears up for massive federal investment appeared first on St. Louis Regional Freightway.

What will transportation in the St. Louis region look like in 2050? Now is your chance to help East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) prioritize future transportation investments. The region is updating our Long-Range Transportation Plan. Take a brief survey to provide your input and ideas for how transportation should evolve in the next 25 years! For any questions about the survey, contact staff […]

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