John Talhelm, senior director in the city for Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., tells GlobeSt.com that the scenery is changing as logistics and distribution firms look for multi-faceted transportation centers instead of traditional trucking hubs such as Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. He says the multi-modal capability was key to the decision by Panalpina Inc. to consolidate its air freight group and ocean-packing operations into a 410,000-sf build-to-suit, which is now rising in the Houston Intercontinental Trade Center.

Two years ago, Home Depot Inc. built a 750,000-sf distribution center in the Cedar Crossing Industrial Park in Baytown. The deal was won by the proximity to the Port of Houston's Barbours Cut Terminal, with ready access to road and rail as well as water.

Where a "foreign component" is involved at any level of the operation, the city has a definite advantage over other cities, says Bill Rudolf, first vice president with CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s local office, part of the team marketing the 2,000-acre Worldport Logistics Center. The city might, in fact, be forced to add to its 15 Foreign Trade Zone-designated areas if more logistics and distribution users start landing in town. "Houston doesn't currently have a proliferation of Foreign Trade Zones," he says.