Study Details Benefit of Distribution and Logistics Segment

PORTLAND-The value-added segment of the metro region’s distribution and logistics industry is a powerful economic driver, according to a new economic impacts analysis commissioned by the Port of Portland. Activities related to the segment generated an estimated 17,242 jobs and $2.8 billion of business revenue in 2003, according to an analysis completed by Lancaster, PA-based Martin Associates.

Commissioned last fall, the study focused on services such as cargo transloading, labeling, bar coding, sorting, packaging, repair and modifications that increase the value of goods and speed them through the supply chain. The overall distribution and logistics industry, which accounts for one in 10 jobs in the region, includes the value-added distribution segment, together with traditional long-term product warehousing, product transportation, and related businesses such as freight forwarders, customhouse brokers and consolidators.

The Port commissioned the study so it could better understand the distribution industry’s contributions to the region and better estimate the industry’s need for industrial land in the future. “In this global economy, managing your transportation costs and quickly serving your customers requires a unique combination of freight transportation and available industrial land,” says the Port’s executive director Bill Wyatt. “Historically, this region has had a competitive advantage for freight transportation. On the other hand, the Portland area’s industrial land resources are dwindling. We must look for ways to provide sites that businesses need for their modern distribution operations.”