Logistics Takes Center Stage in Georgia

ATLANTA, September 13, 2010 – The launch today of a new website to help freight shippers and carriers in Georgia save costs and increase efficiency kicks off a week of related events in Georgia's booming logistics industry. The new website, GeorgiaFreight.com, is the result of collaboration between Efreightsolutions and the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.

'Georgia's high-performing network of freight and logistics allows our state to be a global hub for moving goods and products throughout the United States and around the world,' said Governor Sonny Perdue.  'Our logistics industry brings innovation to this sector, and is an area of strategic growth for the state that continues to play a significant role in bringing jobs and investment to Georgia.'

GeorgiaFreight.com, an online platform to connect Georgia's small-to-medium size shippers and carriers, allows shippers access to real-time rate quotes, carrier transit times, shipment tendering, track and trace, customer invoicing, and reporting.  This system is specifically designed to increase the savings opportunities when a Georgia-based shipper does business with a Georgia-based carrier.

'We are very excited to work with the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics to help extend its mission of fueling competiveness throughout the Georgia shipping community. The GeorgiaFreight.com marketplace will provide our shippers and our carriers with the ability to expand their current relationships with each other, automate manual processes, and will drive cost savings for all parties,' said Spencer Askew, president of Efreightsolutions, which is a Georgia-based company.  'We are also very pleased to announce the formation of two scholarship funds for foster care and education that will benefit from each shipment transaction placed through the GeorgiaFreight.com site.'

The launch of GeorgiaFreight.com is just one of the events this week that focuses on Georgia's highly-networked logistics infrastructure.  These activities follow the state's successful 2010 Georgia Logistics Summit, held in April, which served as the platform for the launch of the annual Georgia Logistics Report on the state of the industry.  Georgia is a globally-recognized leader in logistics, and is home to the fifth-most logistics workers in the U.S. and more than 11,000 logistics service-providers.

'Georgia's logistics infrastructure is very much its own ecosystem that undergirds all industry in Georgia and abroad, and makes it possible for us to effectively attract new and expanding businesses to Georgia,' said Page Siplon, director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics. 'Our system of logistics works as well as it does due in large part to the partnerships we have with private industry, and our state's commitment to ensure logistics remains a key competitive asset for Georgia.'

Other activities this week include:

Sept. 14 – Metro Atlanta Regional Logistics Forum, hosted by the Atlanta Regional Commission and Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics – This forum is specifically targeted to private industry logistics providers operating in the metro region and will provide an update from the Georgia Department of Transportation on the statewide freight planning effort, raise awareness of the COI and help ARC better connect with the private sector for input to its Plan 2040.  The forum will also serve to promote ARC's recent Truck Study the resulting routes recommended for truck routing designation and other initiatives to improve freight flow in the metro Atlanta region.  This event is open to the public, and details are available on the events calendar on www.georgia.org.

Sept. 14 – ASIANA Cargo Inaugural Flight – ASIANA will begin 747-400 freighter service to Atlanta on September 14, 2010, and will fly four flights per week.  The flight will go between South Korea and Atlanta.  This new cargo airline is expected to have an estimated $24 million economic impact on Atlanta and the region.  The Mayor of Atlanta, invited media and guests will meet the first aircraft as it receives a water cannon salute.

Sept. 14 – Metro Atlanta Supply Chain Leadership Council Reception – A gathering of industry leaders and professionals representing shippers, carriers, service providers, government agencies and logistics-related non-profit organizations hosted by the Metro Atlanta Chamber at the JB Fuqua Rooftop Pavilion overlooking Centennial Olympic Park.

Sept. 15 – Private Sector Advisory Committee (PSAC) for the Statewide Freight Plan Introductory Meeting – A targeted group of logistics industry professionals representing all sectors of logistics transportation have been invited to participate as an advisory group to the consultants preparing the Statewide Freight and Logistics Plan.  The private sector advisory committee will provide critical guidance and insight, and ultimately ensure the results will meet the needs of the industry. This private meeting will take place at the Capitol to orient the PSAC members to the tasks and expectations of the committee.

Sept. 16 – State of the Port Address in Savannah – The Georgia Ports Authority will give its annual State of the Port address in Savannah.

Sept. 17 – State of the Port Address in Atlanta Sept. 17 – Southeast Regional Logistics Exchange – The U.S. Departments of Commerce and Transportation are soliciting suggestions for improving transportation system performance.  The Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics is jointly hosting the Southeastern U.S. Regional Logistics Exchange, one of a series of regional forums across the country to invite input from supply chain users, providers and the general public.  Representatives of Southeastern U.S. businesses, consumers, providers and users, and interested members of the public, are invited to share potential solutions for improving transportation system performance. The event will include an update on current federal freight infrastructure initiatives and efforts, a facilitated exchange with industry leaders, and a moderated session of comments from a broader set of audience participants.  Similar events are also being held in Chicago (Sept. 22) and in Seattle/Pacific Northwest (Oct. 28).

Georgia's logistics and transportation network is one of its most formidable assets, supporting all industry in the state by enabling companies to quickly and seamlessly reach domestic and international markets through interconnected airports, seaports, rail and roads. Companies in the state can reach 80 percent of the U.S. market within a two-day truck haul or a two-hour flight, and the port of Savannah is the fastest-growing container port in the country.

The state's assets are so powerful that the Commission for a New Georgia targeted logistics as an industry to cultivate for strategic growth. The Statewide Freight and Logistics Plan is one of the commission's recommendations, and, when completed in 2011, will address Georgia's logistics needs through the year 2050, guiding the strategic execution of logistics activities and projects to improve the flow of goods into, within and out of the state.

Georgia was recently identified as an 'emerging gateway to American supply chains' by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), which recently selected Atlanta as the site of the first MODEX exposition, scheduled for February 6-9, 2012 at the Georgia World Congress Center.  Atlanta was selected over competing sites as a result of the region's strategic location for supply chains and logistics.

More than 40 percent of North American manufacturing and distribution locations are now within a 500 mile radius of Atlanta.  MHIA also selected Georgia since it is home to 90 percent of the global top 25 third party logistics providers (3PLs), and more than 48 of the largest retailers have distribution centers in the state.

"Industry leaders have taken notice of Atlanta's rapidly expanding circle of influence in the supply-chain industry," said Bob Pertierra, vice president of supply chain development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber.  'The selection of Atlanta as the home for MODEX is yet another milestone for this vibrant strategic industry in the region and the state of Georgia."   As one of Georgia's key selling points, the state's logistics network will remain a top priority for future planning.

Efforts of the Statewide Freight and Logistics Plan will also focus on future planning initiatives to accommodate the projected increase in goods moving through Georgia through global development initiatives including the Panama Canal expansion, and the addition of runways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest passenger airport and a leading air cargo center, handling up to 900,000 tons of cargo annually.

About the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics
The Center of Innovation for Logistics fuels Georgia's logistics competitiveness by connecting with all logistics sectors to provide a unique combination of access to technology leaders and university research and development, expert analysis of data and trends, cross-sector collaboration, and a collective industry voice.  The result is increased opportunities for industry growth and success. http://logistics.georgiainnovation.org/
Facts about Georgia's Logistic Industry:

  • More than 11,000 logistic service-providers
  • World's busiest passenger airport with top 10-ranked international air cargo hub
  • Fastest-growing container port in the U.S.
  • 4th-largest container port in the U.S. (Savannah)
  • 6th largest automobile port in the U.S. (Brunswick)
  • 80% of U.S. market within a 2-day truck haul
  • 80% of the U.S. market within a 2-hour flight
  • Most extensive railroad network in the Southeast
  • Largest intermodal hub in the Southeast
  • More than 230 million cubic feet of cold-storage warehousing including 10 facilities of companies from the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) list of North America's Top-10.
  • Operations by 90% of the world's top 25 third-party logistics providers
  • More than 100 logistics-related education degrees, courses, programs, and certificates
  • 5th in the U.S. for logistics-related patents
  • The No. 1 companies on Transport Topic's Top 100 'For-Hire Providers,' Private Users,' and 'Service Providers' lists are located in Georgia (UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises and UPS-Supply Chain Solutions respectively)