When companies want global access, they choose the Garden State
What do Goya Foods and Amazon have in common? Both have invested millions of dollars to expand their distribution operations in New Jersey within the past few months.
In April, Goya officially opened a new $127 million Northeast headquarters and distribution facility on a 40-acre site in Jersey City, featuring a 600,000-square-foot warehouse for distribution.
Just a few weeks later, Amazon announced it would add a new facility in New Jersey, a one million-square-foot fulfillment center in Carteret, to add to the one it opened last year in Robbinsville. Amazon’s total footprint in the state will be 2.5 million square feet — the size of 43 football fields.
From food to e-commerce, companies rely on New Jersey’s world-class infrastructure to deliver their products to the world.
Moving Products and People
Goya and Amazon are just two of the many powerhouse companies with distribution operations in New Jersey. Others include Destination Maternity, Williams-Sonoma, Barnes & Noble, Coca Cola, Home Depot, IKEA, Grainger, Five Below, Toys R Us and Wakefern Food Corporation, among others.
At one point last year, 12 warehouses and distribution centers were under construction in New Jersey, totaling more than five million square feet of new industrial space coming on the market.
The growing number of logistics and distribution centers in New Jersey is no accident—it’s strategic. In New Jersey, companies can reach 130 million consumers with a $3 trillion disposable income market and thousands of businesses—all within a day’s drive.
With a central location in the Northeast corridor, New Jersey offers ample roads, rail, and one of the Northeast’s most powerful trade hubs—the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The busiest maritime cargo center on the East Coast, the Port of New York and New Jersey is currently undergoing work to become post-Panamax ready, including a $1.29 billion project to raise and modernize the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the larger ships that will come once the Panama Canal is widened.
A $1 billion upgrade of New Jersey’s Pulaski Skyway also began in 2014 and the new Paulsboro Maritime Terminal now under construction will be one of the largest ports on the Delaware River in South Jersey. All of these improvements, coupled with the Port’s current access to five Foreign Trade Zones, will help companies in New Jersey take full advantage of global trade opportunities.
The state is an ideal location for transporting people as well as products. New Jersey has the nation’s highest density of railroads, plus nonstop flights to 105+ international destinations and 90 U.S. cities through Newark Liberty International Airport and nearby airports in New York City and Philadelphia.
Keeping the Lights On—Literally
New Jersey’s strength in infrastructure also extends to its utilities. Together, New Jersey’s utilities are investing billions of dollars to improve and strengthen gas, electric and water systems.
Atlantic City Electric alone plans to make infrastructure investments totaling more than $1 billion over the next five years to help protect its electric system and further improve service reliability for customers.
Last year, Jersey Central Power & Light spent approximately $251 million and plans to spend an additional $267 million in 2015 towards electric reliability programs. Last year’s efforts resulted in a 17 percent improvement in outages over the previous year.
South Jersey Gas launched a $103.5 million Storm Hardening and Reliability Program to enhance and protect its infrastructure in advance of future significant weather events.
PSE&G was also ranked the highest in “Business Customer Satisfaction” with gas and electric service among large electric utilities in the East by J.D. Power and Associates this year after announcing that the company will invest $2.6 billion over the next several years in order to improve and harden its electric and gas systems.
The latest program by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), New Jersey Reinvestment in System Enhancements (NJ RISE), will invest $102.5 million toward six projects designed to bolster its system’s resiliency.
And if that wasn’t enough, New Jersey’s telecommunications infrastructure keeps businesses well-connected as well. At last count, Verizon’s ultra-fast FiOS services were available to more than two million homes and businesses in New Jersey.
New Jersey’s utilities help keep the water running too—United Water’s New Jersey operations are piloting a new tool designed to bolster climate change readiness and last year, New Jersey American Water invested millions of dollars in multiple projects across its Burlington County service area.
Thanks to the work being done by New Jersey’s utilities to improve reliability, innovation and customer service, businesses in New Jersey can run more efficiently and effectively, while saving on costs.
In fact, many of the investments made by our utilities are working towards New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan goal to use 30 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Verizon, South Jersey Gas and PSE&G are just a few of the New Jersey utilities that are spearheading sustainability programs.
Powerful Advantages
Time and time again, we’ve seen companies choose New Jersey for its world-class infrastructure and other powerful advantages.
For companies reliant on a talented workforce, New Jersey is a leader in providing highly-educated talent. Named one of the top five states in the nation for education by CNBC, New Jersey is home to more than 60 institutions of higher education and some of the nation’s top-ranked high schools.
New Jersey’s higher education institutions are also known for working side-by-side with industry. For example, last year New Jersey City University (NJCU) opened a Logistics Center, which will offer lectures on industry trends and include a state-of-the-art operational warehouse environment for training.
Whether it’s our strategic location, well-connected transportation systems, reliable utilities or highly educated workforce, New Jersey has all the assets necessary to help businesses run their best.
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