Strengthening Our Transportation and Logistics Sector

The APEX Region is fortunate to have a wealth of transportation-focused infrastructure. There are four Class 1 rail lines, three airports (two are international), an international shipping port, numerous trucking companies, an intermodal terminal, and multiple heavy industrial sites. APEX’s efforts to strengthen this sector include the following categories and key areas of focus:

Air – Targeting opportunities for regional airports to expand in air cargo and increasing military presence in Duluth and the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing.

• Air Cargo
• Expanded Military Presence
• Airport Master Planning

Land Assembly/Preparedness – Compiling and preparing available sites surrounding major transportation infrastructure.

• Major Industrial Sites
• City Master Planning
• US EDA Programs

E-Commerce & Warehousing – Attracting e-commerce and expanded warehousing to the region.

• Warehousing Expansion
• E-Commerce Attraction
• Last Mile Efficiencies

The Runway Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Duluth International Airport (DIA) on September 27, 2019 with Joelle Bodin, DIA Director of Finance & Administration, Ian Vincent, APEX Sr. Business Developer, Tom Werner, DIA Executive Director and Natalie Peterson, DIA Director of Marketing & Communications.

APEX will work to put these strategies into action to drive investment into the region and expand our already rich logistics landscape. In addition to the new strategies detailed above, important work across the following sectors will continue as it has for years: pipeline advocacy, trucking workforce, intermodal customer attraction, flying local and attraction to leverage existing local transportation logistics infrastructure.

In the coming months- APEX staff along with representatives from Great River Energy and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority will be traveling to the Logistics Development Forum in Colorado to learn from industry thought leaders, while educating site selection consultants about the value and opportunities for investment and growth in the APEX Region.