New York tops rankings as the most logistics friendly metro in “The Top 50 Logistics-Friendly Cities in the U.S., 2005”

CLEVELAND — For the past five years, Expansion Management and Logistics Today magazines have teamed up to produce their annual Site Selector ranking of the most logistics-friendly metros in the U.S.

Topping this year's list as the most logistics friendly metro is the metropolitan New York area. Filling out the rest of the top 10 are, in order: Houston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco, Kansas City and Jacksonville, Fla. Visit www.logisticstoday.com/siteselection for the full report.

The study evaluates the overall logistics infrastructure of our nation's 362 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based upon 10 major categories, including the transportation and distribution (T&D) industry, T&D work force, road infrastructure, road congestion, road conditions, interstate highway access, vehicle taxes and fees, railroad access, water port access and air cargo access.

“U.S. companies as a whole spend more than $1 trillion per year on logistics, so developing and managing the most cost-effective logistics network is of paramount importance,” explains Dave Blanchard, editor-in-chief of Logistics Today. “What the Site Selector rankings provide is a yardstick that logistics professionals can use to determine the best cities and regions that match up with their specific transportation and distribution needs.”

“The quality and strength of an area’s road and highway network is the most important transportation factor, since most American businesses move their products on highways,” Blanchard notes. “However, if a business is built around 24-hour turnaround, being next to a major air transport hub is more important than the number of highway lanes,” he adds.

Logistics Today, a Penton publication based in Cleveland, serves individuals with jobs function and buying influences in all modes of transportation, warehousing and distribution, site selection, regional
and global logistics, and technology applications.

For additional information about the new index and implications for metropolitan cities, contact Dave Blanchard at 216.931.9794.


About Logistics Today
Logistics Today (www.logisticstoday.com) is published monthly and is circulated to about 85,000 logistics professionals at medium to large manufacturing and distribution companies across several sectors, primarily industrial products, consumer goods, transportation services, high-tech, food and beverage, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and automotive.

About Expansion Management
Expansion Management is a monthly business magazine for executives of companies that are actively looking for a place to expand or relocate their facilities within the next one to three years. Every year, the magazine’s renowned research department compares communities according to a wide variety of characteristics important to corporate site selectors.

About Penton Media
Penton Media (www.penton.com) is a diversified business-to-business media company that provides high-quality content and integrated marketing solutions to several industries, including: supply chain; manufacturing; aviation; design/engineering; electronics; enterprise IT/business technology; food/retail; government/compliance; hospitality; mechanical systems/construction; health/nutrition and natural and organic products. Founded in 1892, Penton produces market-focused magazines, trade shows, conferences and online media, and provides a broad range of data, custom media and direct marketing solutions for business-to-business customers worldwide.

# # #