major modes of transportation: road, rail, air, and ocean.
Major highways include I-95, I-76, I-78, and I-80. The Port
of New York & New Jersey is the largest port on the East
Coast of North America and the third-largest in the nation,
behind only Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. Newark
Airport is the nation’s 14th busiest airport, handling 80,000
tons of cargo a year. The state also has 1,000 miles of rail
freight lines.
Significant investments continue to be made in that
infrastructure, particularly at the ports. For example, the
Port of New York & New Jersey is in the midst of a major
redevelopment effort to deepen the harbor, improve terminals, and strengthen inland access. A case in point is the
$600 million ExpressRail System program, which has created dedicated rail facilities, additional support track, and rail
yards for each of the port’s major container terminals. An
additional $1.3 billion is being spent to raise the Bayonne
Bridge, which connects Bayonne, N.J., to Staten Island.
Raising the bridge to 215 feet over the high-tide level from
155 feet will allow larger containerships to reach Port
Newark and Port Elizabeth. Additionally, a new breakbulk
facility, the Port of Paulsboro, is under construction on the
Delaware River.
The state also has a readily available, highly skilled work
force, according to McDaniel. To make it easier for companies to find qualified logistics and distribution professionals, the state has created a Transportation, Logistics, and
Distribution Talent Network to address workforce needs
and connect potential employers and employees.
For these reasons, many Fortune 500 companies, such as
Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, and Toys R Us, have distri-
bution facilities in the state. And more are coming, says
McDaniel. For example, Amazon.com announced that it is
building a 1 million-square-foot DC in Robbinsville, N.J.
Industrial real estate company Prologis is building a
900,000-square-foot distribution center in Jersey City,
which will be shared by online grocer Peapod and Imperial
Bag and Paper Co. Subaru has begun construction on a
526,050-square-foot parts distribution center and training
facility in Florence, N.J. In total, there are between 1,800
and 1,900 distribution centers in Central New Jersey,
according to McDaniel.
Finally, McDaniel stresses the progress that Gov. Chris
Christie and the current legislature have made to make the
state more welcoming to business. As examples she cites the
recently passed Economic Opportunity Act, which over-
hauls the state’s incentive program, and the establishment
of the Red Tape Review Commission, which works to
reduce cumbersome regulations and make them less costly
for business.
WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY: CENTRAL NEW JERSEY’S NETWORK OF MAJOR
ROADS ALLOWS COMPANIES TO REACH 130 MILLION CONSUMERS IN A
DAY’S DRIVE.
