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Plan formed by council of logistics industry leaders to advance Indiana’s position as the “Crossroads of America”
INDIANAPOLIS—This week, Conexus Indiana, an initiative to grow the state’s logistics and advanced manufacturing industries, is releasing a statewide strategic plan to leverage Indiana’s position at the heart of the global supply chain and make the state a destination for logistics businesses and jobs.
The plan focuses on key areas of infrastructure, public policy, and workforce development ensuring that those things necessary for Indiana’s logistics success are in place to create a more attractive business environment to locate in Indiana, grow existing logistics businesses, and create high paying jobs for Hoosiers.
“Indiana isn’t called the ‘Crossroads of America’ for nothing. The low cost of doing business, centralized location, and the fact that Indiana ranks first in the nation in terms of interstate access make this an ideal place for logistics growth,” said David Holt, vice president, operations and business development for Conexus Indiana. “However, that position could be threatened if we ignore key infrastructure improvements, fail to maximize capacity, have an unprepared workforce or adopt government policies that make it more difficult to ship goods to and from our state.”
The report is the result of a two-year study by the Conexus Indiana Logistics Council Executive Committee (LCEC), a group of 36 logistics executives and thought leaders from throughout Indiana representing all sectors of the logistics industry, including trucking, air, rail, waterborne, and warehousing and distribution. The LCEC marks the first time the logistics industry has created a forum for executives from both the public and private sectors to discuss issues affecting their industry and build a common agenda. Conexus Indiana was a catalyst in the formation of this group and establishing the LCEC as a body that will continue to shape the state’s logistics industry for years to come.
“The logistics community has rarely agreed so unanimously on measures of common impact,” said Holt. “This strategic plan provides us with one road map that considers all the stakeholders and will help Indiana maximize short-term and long-term success for the industry, making the state a true logistics magnet.”
Indiana has several advantages that support the state’s reputation as a logistics leader. Indiana ranks first in the nation for interstate access and interstate miles, ninth in rail miles, and 15th in terms of foreign and domestic waterborne shipping. There are active ports on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, and the state boasts two of the nation’s top 100 cargo airports in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.
However, the LCEC identified several areas for improvement, including:
- Transportation “bottlenecks” in key regions that constrain the efficient movement of freight
- Lack of intermodal rail services
- Underutilized air facilities with little international freight movement
- Lack of efficient connectivity between different modes of transportation
- Decaying lock infrastructure on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Great Lakes
- Lack of dredging that prohibits barges/ships from maximizing capacity
- Areas lacking interstate or interstate-like access, such as Southwestern Indiana
- A workforce lacking the skills needed for increasingly high-tech logistics careers
These shortfalls have created higher costs, potential environmental impacts, inefficient freight movement, loss of productivity for Indiana businesses, and safety impacts. Potential solutions detailed in the plan include the development of large intermodal/multimodal facilities in Indiana; supporting the construction and redesign of key locks; development of a plan to attract greater volumes of air freight business; support for the completion of key infrastructure projects in bottleneck areas; and the identification and creation of a plan to improve and provide infrastructure-like access to regions/cities with limited accessibility based on impact and potential. The plan also includes a logistics skills template, based on input from industry leaders, aimed at preparing the workforce needed to sustain future growth in the industry.
Conexus Indiana plans to release a second phase of its strategic plan next year, which will recommend ways to improve the financing mechanisms for infrastructure; facilitate a discussion on a public policy package for the Indiana General Assembly and Congress; and long-term goals and tactics.
“Though this plan lays a solid foundation for forward progress in the logistics industry, our work has only just begun,” Holt said. “We will continue to study these issues in the coming months and work toward advancing the many strategies outlined in this plan.”
About Conexus Indiana
Conexus Indiana is the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics initiative, dedicated to making Indiana a global leader in high-growth, high-tech industries. Conexus is focused on strategic priorities like workforce development, creating new industry partnerships and marketing our competitive advantages.
For more information about Conexus Indiana, please visit http://www.conexusindiana.com.
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