Logistics: the Science of Moving

For years now my friends and I have lamented the loss of farmland around the Lehigh Valley. I first noticed the loss of farmland in the Macungie area soon after 9/11. As New Yorkers moved west and Philadelphians moved north, they needed homes, so vacant farmland was developed into those ugly, ubiquitous Fahrenheit 451 houses, as I call them. Now, though, the land is being developed and the scenery is being marred by concrete warehouses and the tractor trailers that inevitably come with them.

Why pick our beautiful valley to build these ugly things? There is a very good reason.

Let's pause and look back at history. (You should expect this by now!) Pennsylvania was the breadbasket of the colonies. With moderate weather, good water, and naturally rolling hills, it was the perfect place for German immigrants to settle and farm. Centuries later, Milton Hershey chose Pennsylvania as the site of his chocolate factory because he had easy access to dairy farms and transportation.

And that's the key.

Pennsylvania is perfectly placed. We like to live here because the weather is dang near perfect most of the time, even if we do complain. But we're not the only ones who think so; businesses think so, too. Midway up the Atlantic seaboard, Interstate 84 links it to New England, 76 connects with New Jersey and Ohio, Turnpike/95 heads south, and 80 stretches west. These highways give access to nearby ports and airports, as well: New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Wilmington. The Lehigh Valley also is a railroad hub heading west and south. Northeast PA would meet those criteria, so why build in the Lehigh Valley? Because NEPA is too mountainous; it's better financially to build where your transportation apparatus -- 18-wheelers -- don't need to negotiate mountains, and although NEPA has railroads, they aren't used to the same extent as in the Lehigh Valley. So logistics companies build in the Lehigh Valley.

The Council of Logistics Management, a trade organization based in the United States, says logistics is “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.” Who needs what? Where is it coming from and where is it going? Some companies do this within their own organization, but some contract it out, to third-party logistics, and this is what we have in PA. In February 2015, Supply Chain Link, a business blog, stated, "Distributors, manufacturers, and 3pls [third-party logistics] have been migrating to the Lehigh Valley over the past decade to take advantage of logistics benefits and opportunities. In fact, it was recently recognized as one of the nation’s emerging markets." In addition to nearby highways, the growing population -- courtesy of migrating city-dwellers -- offers a deep employment pool with which to staff such warehouses.

But why here? Why not Ohio or Indiana or Kentucky, for that matter? According to Supply Chain Link, "Moving distribution networks to some of the largest consumption areas makes for quick delivery. Customers have come to expect fast delivery and it’s important to offer these amenities in order to stay competitive. The Lehigh Valley offers overnight shipping access to more than 1/3 of the total population. From an East Coast perspective, this area is the farthest west that companies can go and still have the accessibility to reach New England overnight." Moving the logistical warehouses to Ohio is less logistical. And as for truck drivers, New England and New York, and northern Virginia, are within a 250 mile radius; truck drivers can be home the same day, and that makes it easier to retain drivers. Even Ohio and North Carolina are within 500 miles, so it would still be only one night away from home.

Quoted in lehighvalley.org, Don Cunningham, LVEDC (Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation) president and CEO, said, “The Lehigh Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in the country because of its solid economic foundation and assets. We anticipate this trend to continue because of our location, cost competitiveness, workforce, quality of life and available development sites.”

As much as we lament the loss of pretty, golden wheat fields, we can expect more of the same.

This probably doesn't make you feel any better. In a few days I'll post another entry into why this is happening, focusing on the farmers, and that probably won't make you feel better, either. But hopefully my posts will help us understand.