Transportation & Distribution

From its founding as a fur trading post to its role as the Gateway to the West, transportation has always been a key part of what makes St. Louis tick. And it still is.

In some respects, the area is currently emerging as an even more important avenue of American commerce. The evidence lies in major new distribution facilities like those for companies like Hershey Foods and Unilever in Madison County, Illinois.

Shipping costs are among the lowest of any region nationwide — making St. Louis ideal for companies focused on logistics, transportation and distribution, or heavily reliant on those components.

Located near both the geographic and population centers of the country, St. Louis is an ideal multi-modal location with air, road, rail and river access to virtually anywhere. St. Louis is within 500 miles of one-third of the U.S. population and within 1,500 miles of 90 percent of the North American population and gross domestic product.

Serving the St. Louis area are four interstate highways and six major railroads. St. Louis lies at the confluence of three major rivers – the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois – with 14 active ports and more than 100 docking facilities extending 70 miles along the Illinois and Missouri banks. St. Louis is the second largest inland port by tonnage in the United States and handles more than 24 million tons of goods and materials annually, including petroleum, chemicals, grain and other cargo.

Transportation and distribution is a major employer in Greater St. Louis. The following table provides employment and companies by sub-sector.