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In this month’s issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine we are focusing on a critical driver of the St. Louis region’s economic competitiveness; namely, infrastructure. Our coverage spans a wide gamut from surface transportation, to air service, to rail service. It also includes the too often-neglected significance to the national and regional economies that our rivers and shipping play, particularly when connected with other modes of transportation.
Speaking of transportation, infrastructure and economic development, one of the five distinctive industry clusters for which St. Louis region is most strongly positioned—along with plant and life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing and financial services—is the transportation, distribution and logistics sector. As Linda F. Jarrett writes, St. Louis is within 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population, making it perfectly centered.
The $65 million Gateway Commerce Center in Edwardsville is just one example of the assets already in place in the St. Louis region that are serving the transportation, distribution and logistics industry. Some of the major national companies that have decided to locate distribution operations here are Hershey, Dial and GlaxoSmithKline.
Places such as Louisville and Memphis have been widely recognized for their logistics and distribution capacities because of such facilities as a distribution center for UPS in Louisville and the presence of FedEx in Memphis. But when you look at the logistical operations performed at Scott Air Force Base—coupled with the capacity represented by MidAmerica Airport—coupled with the role both play for all branches of the military, the comparison definitely puts St. Louis on the distribution/logistics map.
Think of Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command at Scott as the CEO of a complex global distribution corporation. He oversees 1,332 aircraft, 87 ships, 2,150 railroad cars, and 141,000 people worldwide. Plus, Scott AFB has an annual economic impact of over $2 billion for the region.
When it comes to distribution, one product that has been a long-standing focus for the region is coal. It is not only making a significant comeback in terms of production in this region, but the industry is booming around the globe. St. Louis has the global headquarters of the largest public coal company in the world, Peabody. Our cover story by Brian R. Hook focuses on Peabody Energy and the role the company and their CEO Greg Boyce are playing in the global energy marketplace.
Finally in our spotlight, Christine Imbs focuses on a developer who is playing a key role in shaping the real estate development market across the St. Louis region. As CEO of The DESCO Group, the real-estate arm of the Schnuck’s family business, Mark Schnuck has developed supermarket-anchored shopping centers throughout St. Louis, and most recently, brought new life to the historic Old Post Office.
We hope you enjoy reading this issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine. As always, please send your comments and suggestions to us at dfleming@stlrcga.org.
RICHARD C.D. FLEMING
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber
and Growth Association
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