Access the country — and the world — from St. Louis
Located near the geographic and population centers of the United States, Greater St. Louis sits within 500 miles of one-third of the nation’s population. The region’s highly developed logistics infrastructure offers reliable and efficient connections — global businesses in St. Louis can easily manufacture and distribute products throughout the nation and the world.
[St. Louis] is a central location with multiple modes of transportation, and a large, diverse workforce. I think oftentimes we look for silver bullet-type answers for what we may need here to attract new business. I think we have all that we need here from a point of entry standpoint to attract business here.
Our robust trade, transportation, and warehousing sector comprises more than 6,000 establishments and 100,000 employees. Multinational brands like Hershey, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble house regional distribution facilities each exceeding one million square feet. Notable wholesalers and distribution headquarters include Graybar, UniGroup and World Wide Technology. Amazon recently opened two 700,000-square-foot distribution warehouses in Madison County, Illinois, a 450,000-square-foot sortation center in Hazelwood, Missouri, and an 850,000-square-foot fulfillment center in St. Peters, Missouri, employing more than 4,000 workers.
The St. Louis region offers abundant flat land and extensive real estate suitable for distribution centers, including more than 7,000 buildings with a collective 300 million square feet of industrial space, as well as two large Foreign-Trade Zones with more than 10,000 acres of sites.
A Multimodal Hub
Highway
The region’s network of highways is robust, including four interstates (I-44, I-55, I-64, I-70) and the Avenue of the Saints running between St. Louis and Minneapolis-St. Paul. These roadways make St. Louis one of the most accessible cities in the nation, so it’s not surprising that more than 1,000 truck transportation businesses operate in Greater St. Louis, employing almost 15,000 workers.
Air
St. Louis Lambert International Airport, the St. Louis region’s major airport, has 10 commercial air carriers and features excellent access to Interstate 70, a Foreign-Trade Zone and U.S. Customs on site, and 24-7 operations. On the other side of the Mississippi River and adjacent to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, MidAmerica Airport accommodates scheduled passenger, freight, and military flights. Other regional corporate airports include St. Louis Downtown Airport, St. Louis Regional Airport and the Spirit of St. Louis Airport.
Water
The Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers all meet in the St. Louis region, which is home to the nation’s second-largest inland water port by tonnage. Home to the last lock and dam on the Mississippi River, Greater St. Louis is the northernmost port to remain ice-free year-round. Located in the City of St. Louis, the Port of Metropolitan St. Louis is served by all major barge lines and offers more than 100 docks and terminal facilities handling bulk commodities such as coal, grain, oil, and metals. America’s Central Port in Granite City, Illinois, includes the River’s Edge Business Park, which offers 840 acres for distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing.
Rail
Greater St. Louis is one of the largest rail hubs in the U.S. and is served by AmTrak and six Class I Railroads (Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National Railway, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific) that connect to five local and short line railroads. St. Louis is one of the few gateway cities where rail traffic can transfer between and originate from both the eastern and western railroads.
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