By Faughn Distribution • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Record-breaking demand for warehouse and DC development

Unlike many other segments of the economy, warehouse and distribution center (DC) development is not only withstanding the widespread economic impact of COVID-19, it’s thriving. In fact: It’s red hot. Companies can’t find space fast enough and developers can’t build DCs quickly enough to meet demand. “The market is thriving, and with it, record high transaction volume (new leases, user sales and renewals), record high rents, a vacancy of 4.7%, and 42 consecutive quarters of positive absorption,” reports James Breeze, senior director, global head of Industrial & Logistics Research for CBRE.

Robust demand for industrial product has kept developers busy. “At the end of the third quarter of 2020, more than 312 million square feet was under construction [nationwide] and 37% of this was already preleased—the highest rate of pre-leasing in over a year,” Breeze exclaims. Other noteworthy trends include climbing rents, annual absorption inching close to the 200-million-square-foot benchmark, and record-high deliveries, reports Mehta Randhawa, director of U.S. Industrial Research, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL).

As stay-at-home orders lifted, construction activity resumed, and deliveries spiked. Consequently, JLL data indicates that delivery of industrial space hit a record high in the third quarter of 2020, with completions totaling 97.4 million square feet. When all totaled, JLL expects that figure to hit 107.0 million square feet for 2020. “We have seen a speed associated with innovation that was never known to us before COVID,” remarks Matt Powers, executive vice president, JLL. “Supply chain models are being transformed in days instead of months or years.”

Driving this robust development surge is widespread adoption of e-commerce, accentuated by COVID-19. “Most consumers are not only buying more product online; they are expecting it to be delivered in a timely manner,” says Breeze. Consequently, developers are seeing upwards of five years of e-commerce growth in one year—a trend, they say, that’s not going away, Further, companies are looking to carry higher inventory levels given that many incurred lost revenues by not having the inventory to meet demand. “Beyond carrying higher inventory levels to favor resiliency over efficiency in their supply chains, companies are also considering more diversified manufacturing locations,” says Carter Andrus, president of Central Region at real estate investment trust company Prologis. “In some cases, companies have become too efficient without having some buffer or just-in-case stock for events that happen.”

Andrus observes that these two trends have the potential to generate more than 500 million square feet of additional warehouse and DC space in the next two to three years. “This is overwhelming,” he says. “In terms of facility size, we see good momentum in all size categories, although activity has been best above 100,000 square feet with pronounced strength in the big box spectrum, with that being greater than 250,000 square feet.” Earlier in 2020, Prologis saw some softness in spaces below 100,000 square feet, but now market demand for this space is also improving. All of these factors continue to shift supply chain strategies to increase distribution centers throughout the country whether it’s a company shipping directly to the consumer, or the supplier to that company.

According to the seasonally adjusted date from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. consumers spent an estimate $209.5 billion online in the third quarter of 2020. That’s a whopping increase of 36.7% from the same period in 2019 when e-commerce sales made up 11.2% of total sales. Two of the biggest players in the retail world are Amazon and Walmart. Last year, Amazon was said to have over 100 fulfilment centers alone. The company typically builds fulfillment centers to feed regional sort centers as well as DCs, also known as delivery stations. Its fulfillment centers are typically 1 million-square-feet or more.

Walmart, known for running one of the largest distribution operations in the world, has over 190 DCs with more than 143 million square feet, according to global supply chain, logistics and distribution consulting firm MWPVL International Inc. “Market drivers include population growth and competition shortening the last-mile with same- or next-day delivery,” states Powers.

Robert Van Geons, president and CEO Of Fayetteville Economic Development Corp., who promotes activity in his region of North Carolina, observes how onshoring of manufacturing, increased e-commerce and drastically altered consumer demand cycles have significantly increased the demand for warehouses and DC space. “While new product is under construction, it’s nearly impossible to find a large [250,000 square feet+] quality building available between Washington, D.C. and Savanah,” Van Geons reports. “If it has good ceiling height and is close to a major interstate, it is off the market.”

https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/record_breaking_demand_for_warehouse_and_dc_development/warehouse

By Faughn Distribution 0 Comments

Amazon plans distribution hub at former Bakersfield Kmart

The former Kmart on Wilson Road is slated to become an Amazon distribution hub and the e-commerce giant’s second warehouse development in Kern County. City records show a 123,000-square-foot warehouse proposed at the site would receive and sort six truckloads of consumer goods per day. Products would then be loaded onto 20 delivery vans and shipped out in staggered departure times to avoid causing congestion.

Amazon has been identified as the operator, according to a representative of one of the small businesses ordered by the property’s owner to vacate the site to make room for the new project. An Amazon spokeswoman would not confirm or deny the project. She said by email the company is “constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop sites to best serve customers.”

The property’s owner did not return calls requesting comment Monday. Neither did the project’s applicant at Irvine real estate developer Greenlaw Partners. The city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment in September approved a conditional-use permit to convert the existing, 50-year-old building into a distribution warehouse. Nowhere in materials filed with the city is Amazon mentioned, and a city official said the operator’s name had not been disclosed.

Amazon was similarly stealthy when it was in early stages of developing the much larger “fulfillment center” the Seattle-based company recently opened just north of Meadows Field Airport. In that case, county officials considering the project were unaware the nation’s most valuable retailer was behind it. A majority of the property’s 128,150-square-foot footprint along Wilson Road will remain in place, according to paperwork filed with the city. But it says the shopping center’s eastern portion will be bulldozed to accommodate driving access and parking. The demolition is expected to take out several small businesses operating on the property, including the Golden Ox Diner and a small store owned by the father of Miguel Munoz, who said he was told by the landlord that Amazon had purchased the entire property.

County records give no indication Amazon has bought the center. They show the former Kmart, which closed in early 2017, was purchased in May 2018 by investor Balbir Singh. He sold it in March 2019 to Big J Investment LLC, which is at least partly owned by Singh. County property records show that eight months later Big J sold or transferred the property to itself or a company of the same name. Munoz said his father’s lease doesn’t expire until April but that they have been told to vacate by January. He said the final deadline to move out has changed a few times. A representative of the city of Bakersfield said its Planning Division has not received a project timetable from the property owner or the applicant, Greenlaw.

The warehouse can only improve what has become a blighted property, said Bakersfield real estate professional Frank St. Clair, whose company owns a 257-unit apartment building directly north of the empty Kmart space. “We’re happy to see it go,” he said, adding that transients hanging out at the shopping center sometimes jump a fence onto his company’s property. Singh originally planned to develop an independent supermarket on the site of the former Kmart and the Big Lots next door. His business partners said there was also going to be a banquet hall, a gym and a Dairy Queen at the shopping center. Those plans appear to have been changed.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/amazon-plans-distribution-hub-at-former-bakersfield-kmart/article_cec64cea-43e4-11eb-8c30-6b0be55c7af1.html?utm_source=bakersfield.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fbreaking%3Ffast-method&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

By Faughn Distribution 0 Comments

SJ COUNTY: LAND OF AMAZON FULFILLMENT

San Joaquin County takes a back seat to no one — except San Bernardino County in Southern California — when it comes to Amazon Fulfillment Centers. With the opening earlier this year of the 746,790 square foot fulfillment center at 3565 North Airport Way in Manteca that’s sandwiched between 5.11 Tactical and Penske Logistics that serves as Lowe’s Northern California distribution center, there are now seven Amazon Fulfillment Centers in San Joaquin County. There are three apiece in Tracy and Stockton.

Those are in addition to the Amazon Prime delivery location on Louise Avenue in Manteca as well as the Amazon cargo operation at Stockton Metro Airport. Amazon is by far the largest private sector employer in San Joaquin County with well in excess of 6,000 jobs. According to FBA Help San Bernardino County is home to eight fulfillment centers. Tied with seven apiece are San Joaquin County and Dallas County in Texas. Riverside County in Southern California has five fulfillment centers. It was not by happenstance that San Joaquin County now has seven Amazon Fulfilment Centers.

The company Jeff Bezos founded is well known for its shrewd logistics chain that allows rapid delivery of customer orders. Much like the Inland Empire that consists of Riverside and San Bernardino counties is the prime logistics hub to serve the greater Los Angeles-San Diego area, San Joaquin County is the same for the NorCal Motorplex with 18 million consumers in and around its anchor cities of San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento. The San Joaquin Partnership — a private-public organization dedicated to securing employers to locate within the county — for years has touted South San Joaquin County as the emerging Inland Empire for Northern California.

If you toss in the Patterson distribution center just over the Stanislaus County line along Interstate 5, they are seven Amazon Fulfillment Centers in the region that consist altogether of more than 7 million square or the equivalent of 50 Manteca Costco stores at 140,000 square feet apiece. There are a number of reasons why Amazon and other retailers and suppliers with distribution networks are attracted to South San Joaquin County. Manteca, Lathrop, Tracy, and Stockton are roughly equal distance to San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Interstate 5 — the only freeway that runs from Canada to Mexico — as well as Highway 99 run through here. Interstate 205 provides access to the Bay Area.

There are two major intermodal operations where truck trailers are loaded and unloaded on rail cars. One is the Union Pacific Railroad facility sandwiched between Lathrop and Manteca directly behind the Manteca Amazon Fulfillment Center on North Airport Way. The other belongs to Santa Fe Railroad and is located 10 miles northeast of Manteca on Austin Road. The majority of freight is now moved long distance in such a manner with trucks doing the deliveries on both ends.

Also 10 miles north of Manteca is the Stockton Metro Airport that Amazon Prime jets are using on a daily basis, Unlike San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, and Sacramento airports there is minimal commercial traffic. The airport also has unparalleled access to freeways. Stockton Seaport doesn’t figure heavily into the distribution scheme but if the marine highway strategy is ever revived to take pressure off of truck movements out of the Port of Oakland by moving cargo containers by barge to Stockton, it could by enough of a magnet to draw distribution centers to the area.

Amazon opted to locate their Amazon Prime in a 91,340-square-foot delivery center on Louise Avenue in Manteca just west of the Manteca Unified School District complex for the same reason firms such as J&M Tractor and Frito-Lay shuttered separate distribution centers in Stockton and Modesto and relocated to a single facility in Manteca. Not only is Manteca 20 minutes away from both Stockton and Modesto but it is also 20 minutes away from Tracy that is closing in on 100,000 residents. That puts Manteca at the center of more than 1.2 million potential Amazon Prime consumers.

https://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/local-news/sj-county-land-amazon-fulfillment/

By Faughn Distribution 0 Comments

UPS, Amazon to Lease Space at Visalia Industrial Park in Central California

VISALIA, CALIF. — The City of Visalia and the Visalia Economic Development Corp. have announced two new tenants at the Visalia Industrial Park currently under construction in Visalia. A 425,000-square-foot UPS hub is now complete and construction has begun on a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center for Amazon.

YS Industrial is also developing two 300,000-square-foot speculative facilities adjacent to Millipore Sigma and near VWR (Avantor). Additionally, current tenants — SORMA, California Dairies and Hydrite Chemical Co. — are expanding their footprints at the industrial park.

https://rebusinessonline.com/ups-amazon-to-lease-space-at-visalia-industrial-park-in-central-california/

By Faughn Distribution • Food Processing 0 Comments

Caribbean import is Valley’s top exporter

VISALIA – Crops from Tulare County go to three quarters of the world’s countries making Tulare County one of the top agricultural exporting counties in the nation. The companies connecting produce sellers and buyers are often large, international companies with hundreds or thousands of employees. But some of the exporters, like many of the farmers they partner with, remain small, grass roots businesses located just down around the corner.

It was just 15 years ago when Didier Vivies, an immigrant from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, founded his company Central Valley Ag Exports, Inc. in Visalia. He began by going door-to-door to establish relationships with farmers who would supply him with high quality commodities at a good price and with customers whom were willing to give him a chance and start buying from him. From these humble beginnings, today CVAE employs 10 people and has earned the “2020 Exporter of the Year” Small Business Award from the Central California Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network SBA. They were nominated for the National Small Business Award by the Valley Community Small Business Development Center (VCSBDC) which serves Tulare, Fresno, Kings and Madera Counties, and is hosted by Clovis Community College.

“We were honored to have CVAE win this award,” VCSBDC director Rich Mostert explained. “Our team of expert consultants provides a full range of no-cost services and workshops to companies across a diverse array of industries, and it is always so rewarding to help a company grow and succeed.”

Due to the pandemic the traditional May SBA Small Business Week event was unable to occur, and the company has been recognized in a private ceremony. “This yearly event recognizes the critical impact small businesses have on our local economies and celebrates the outstanding accomplishments made by each of our award recipients,” Central CA SBDC regional director Kurt Clark said. “Their achievements exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that is a hallmark of the U.S.”

Vivies established the business in the most fertile agricultural area of the San Joaquin Valley and features a large variety of legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, rice and oatmeal. Serving both domestic and international companies, they offer a variety of options, from bulk deliveries direct from farmer to customer, to packaging for international and domestic locations, to private label packaging.

CVAE credits the consulting assistance they received from the Valley Community SBDC as pivotal to their growth and success, and have worked with the VCSBDC for several years. “VCSBDC’s consultant Olga Martinez has been of great help by assisting us with our growth objectives by introductions to prospective strategy partners through business-to-business match-making, recommending we participate in different conferences and trade shows, plus other strategy advisory services,” CVAE operations manager Ludivine Vivies said.

Since 2003, the Central CA SBDC has assisted thousands of companies, from start-ups to established firms with no-cost consulting services, workshops and assistance in sourcing funds. This has helped to create and retain over 10,000 jobs, as well as creating more than $435 million in loans and equity. The Central CA SBDC and its five dedicated satellite Centers serve 14 counties in Central California: San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Monterey, Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Fresno, Kings, Madera, Tulare, Kern, Mono and Inyo counties.

https://thesungazette.com/article/business/2020/10/07/caribbean-import-is-valleys-top-exporter/

By Faughn Distribution • Workforce 0 Comments

Amazon to bring over 2,500 jobs to the Central Valley as part of widespread hiring spree

Amazon is recruiting more than 100,000 workers across the U.S. and Canada in anticipation of the holiday season, over 2,500 of which will be hired across the Central Valley.

According to an Amazon spokesperson, the company is adding over 4,000 jobs throughout Northern California, with 1,700 in the Sacramento area and 2,600 planned for the Central Valley. Brittany Parmley, a PR manager for Amazon Operations, said the Central Valley jobs will be available in Tracy, Patterson and Stockton. She added that jobs range from packing customer orders to positions in HR and finance within the individual buildings.

Wages will start at $15 per hour, Parmley said, and benefits like health and dental insurance, as well as a 401(k) match, will be available “on day one.” Select positions also come with a sign-on bonus of up to $1,000. Jobs are available for those with and without a college degree, and those interested can apply immediately on Amazon’s website. She also added that the company has an internal program available to employees called “career choice”, which helps workers get certifications in fields that they’re interested in order to set them up for their chosen long-term career paths.

The company’s most recent hiring spree is the fourth it has rolled out this year. E-commerce sales have skyrocketed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic as people were forced to stay home and limit their trips to physical retailers. Amazon, the world’s biggest online retailer, experienced a 40% revenue rise last quarter and the biggest profit in its 26-year-history. In March, the company added 175,000 new jobs across the region as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the globe.

Amazon has faced criticism surrounding worker safety during the pandemic, but Parmley said the company has implemented “hundreds of safety process changes” to ensure compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. She said warehouse employees are subject to regular temperature checks and that there are designated “social distancing ambassadors” in each building. There are acrylic shields partitioning workers and sanitizing stations throughout the warehouses, and Parmley said Amazon has doubled its janitorial staff.

The new job openings are available at 100 new warehouse and operations sites across the United States and Canada. As of June 30, the Seattle-based company employed 876,800 people, excluding temporary personnel and contractors. “Amazon is proud to be a part of the Central Valley community,” Parmley said. “We’re excited to welcome members of the community to apply for these jobs.

https://www.modbee.com/news/business/article245757780.html#:~:text=Amazon%20is%20recruiting%20more%20than,hired%20across%20the%20Central%20Valley.

By Faughn Distribution • Food Processing 0 Comments

Fresno agriculture company completes major expansion during pandemic

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Despite a drop in demand in some markets due to the pandemic, a Fresno ag company has just completed a major expansion. Expansion at Baloian Farms in Fresno came at a good time with so many vegetables now in season – like mini bell peppers. They were picked, packed and then shipped out to stores across the US and Canada.

Company CEO Tim Baloian said, “There’s three major retailers that we’re working with right now on consolidation, and then we work with wholesalers and there’s been increased demand.” The cold storage space has been expanded and the loading area has doubled in size from eight to 16 docks. That keeps the product moving in and out of the facility. Additional big rig parking has also been added.

Baloian said, “We can back a lot more trucks in and get these orders out much quicker than without these facilities.” In addition to bell peppers, Baloian also grows lettuce, squash and egg plant in the Fresno area, all the way to the central coast to keep up with demand. Baloian explained, “We do a lot of these commodities on a year-round basis, loading them either in Fresno or in Nogales, Arizona so we try to build our business as a year-round supplier of certain commodities.”

The retail market remained strong but the struggles continued for ag producers which supply restaurants and school cafeterias during this pandemic. Baloian said, “The food service sector of our business, which is a big part of what we do, is still suffering and is still down.” Baloian Farms survived its trial by fire. In October of 1993, Action News was there as fire destroyed its warehouse. The company was able to not only rebuild but gradually expand over the next few decades. Baloian said, “It’s by the grace of God we’re still in business.”

https://abc30.com/agriculture-fresno-ag-central-valley/6397620/

By Faughn Distribution • Education 0 Comments

BC begins to offer courses for students aiming to get a white-collar warehouse job

Kern County’s third largest industry, behind agriculture and oil, is distribution, and Bakersfield College has just begun offering courses to prepare students for management positions in the field. “Warehouse Management” is a business administration course now open for registration. It marks the first of five courses that the college plans to offer to students interested in working their way up the management ladder at the many distribution centers in Kern County. “We’re in the right spot, and we want to get them prepared,” said Gary Blackburn, a faculty member who will be teaching the course.

Kern County is the midway point between Southern California and Northern California. That makes it an attractive location for many distribution centers that have made their home here, including Ross Stores, Target, IKEA, Dollar General, Walmart, Caterpillar and Amazon. Altogether those centers add up to 35 million square feet of distribution, Blackburn says. He points to a Kern Economic Development Corp. report that puts Kern County within 300 miles of 14 percent of the U.S. population.

These distribution warehouses offer a lot of jobs. Blackburn says these distribution warehouses don’t tend to have a problem finding blue-collar workers here, but finding locals who are ready to take on the white-collar opportunities in management can be tougher. But he says there are opportunities for higher-paying jobs with room for advancement, and Bakersfield College’s new courses are aimed at putting them on that track. “That’s our niche,” Blackburn says. “That’s what this training is going to help them do.”

Blackburn says even just a few courses at Bakersfield College will put them in a better position to move up the management ladder, but he says students who want to continue their degree will be able to take courses at CSUB, which has a Supply Chain Logistics program he helped to get off the ground in 2011.

This semester he won’t be able to take students on field trips to show them how warehouses operate to give them hands-on experience the way he usually does. But he’s hoping that as the COVID-19 outbreak eases, he’ll be able to take students on site and have them meet guest speakers in the field for courses like “Operations Management and Lean Principles,” “Supply Chain Management,” “Purchasing and Contracting,” and “Transportation Management.” For that last course, he’s hoping to take students to the Port of Los Angeles.

This semester “Warehouse Management” will focus on “maximizing value in the modern warehouse, relationships in the supply chain, inbound and outbound product and processes, management systems, and safety.”

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/bc-begins-to-offer-courses-for-students-aiming-to-get-a-white-collar-warehouse-job/article_2cceb956-ed89-11ea-90cc-07eb57d663b4.html

By Faughn Distribution • E-Commerce • Manufacturing • New Developments 0 Comments

UPS & Amazon offer huge boost to Visalia Industrial Park

-September 9,2020-

After 2 years of construction activity United Parcel Service (UPS) plans to open their new 450,000sf distribution hub on Plaza at Riggin in the Visalia Industrial Park early next month. UPS spokesperson Kim Krebs says when it opens the “new Visalia package sortation and distribution center will create more than 625 new full-and part-time well-paying jobs.”

Contractors are packing up now after erecting the 88 acre complex that includes several outbuildings, a truck maintenance facility, fuel center, customer service center and entrance station besides the main tilt-up concrete building with its advanced package sorting conveyor system. UPS bought the land in summer of 2017 from CapRock Partners adding 30 acres last fall from the same party. But wait,as they say ..there’s more.

Right next door to UPS there is some surprise news from another mega-shipper. Amazon is the unnamed mystery logistics center that is now under construction with a 1.3 million square ft distribution center of their own – one of their “fulfillment centers” that typically employ 1000 or more. Amazon has not announced the Visalia project but the contractor on the job Gray Construction based in Kentucky is an Amazon contractor and at the job site today.The company secured the city building permit.

Blake Steel with Gray Construction says this will be the third Amazon center he has worked on and says they will be complete in 11 months. Some 300 construction workers will be needed during the busiest months of the Visalia project.

A typical scenario played out in Fresno with the distribution center built and open in less than a year. In Fresno’s case “During peak times, the fulfillment center ships over 1 million packages per day and has created over 3,500 jobs within the immediate area” says a report. If Fresno has one, Bakersfield too now has seen completion of a 4-story Amazon complex near their airport, expected to open September 6,according to the Bakersfield Californian.

The new general manager told the press there “This is one of the most advanced buildings that Amazon has,” he said, adding that the building — four stories, each about the size of 11 football fields — is the company’s 26th “fulfillment center” in California.” Make that the 27th – counting Visalia. Like UPS, Amazon is not just hiring robots to do the work. Amazon has more than 110 active fulfillment centers in the US and more than 185 centers globally. Now we are on the map

Property owner Newport-based CapRock Partners has been working on this 1.3 million “spec building” for over a year and just received City of Visalia approval to begin construction with grading of the empty site starting last week. Electric power to the site for construction is being added this week to the new address- 3315 N Kelsey.The building has a million sf at ground level and a 300,000sf mezzanine.

CapRocks’ President Patrick Daniels said he could not comment who the tenant was for the big building, what will be by far Visalia’s largest – almost 10 Costcos for comparison. Daniels has been working on their 640 acre industrial park – they call it the Visalia Logistics Center – since 2006 when he first visited Visalia drawn by developer Richard Allen and his successful effort to bring in VF Corp to Visalia in 2005. VF, a major local employer, is another big UPS customer who came to town because UPS ships by ground from Visalia to most of California in less time than almost all other competitive locations. Scores of other firms have suggested that is why, they too, chose Visalia.

With the coming of these two new shippers, the City of Visalia already is planning to widen Riggin from Plaza to Shirk in coming months as well as punching Kelsey north that will allow Amazon street access.The Riggin and Kelsey intersection will now be signaled. Riggin is already busy with truck traffic with the new connection to Highway 99 ( Betty Drive Interchange) that fully opened in the past year.

As for jobs at Amazon the Bakersfield location is a close model, offering warehousing jobs paying $15 to start, the company says, and full-time employees immediately qualify for comprehensive health benefits as well as a 401(k) program with a 50 percent company match. Amazon also offers to pay 95 percent of tuition for college courses in in-demand fields, regardless of whether that education relates to their current job with Amazon.

Amazon.com also said last week it received federal approval to establish a fleet of drones and will begin limited tests of package deliveries to customers in the U.S., although a number of key steps remain before widespread use of the technology will be allowed. Besides drones, both UPS and Amazon promises a green fleet of delivery vehicles based in the Visalia Industrial Park.

What will be the impact on government of a new Amazon logistic center here? A summary of Amazon’s 2019 U.S. taxes they reported includes:

•Over $1 billion in federal income tax expense.
•More than $2.4 billion in other federal taxes, including payroll taxes and customs duties.
•More than $1.6 billion in state and local taxes, including payroll taxes, property taxes, state income taxes, and gross receipts taxes.
•Last year alone, Amazon collected and remitted nearly $9 billion in sales and use taxes to states and localities throughout the U.S. The recent enactment of “marketplace laws” by 40 states allows Amazon to legally collect state and local sales and use taxes on behalf of third-party sellers who sell their goods on their platform.

If Amazon is the golden boy company, UPS and their stock has been on a tear recently as well, propelled by a surge in e-commerce activity this year as a result of COVID. UPS stock has doubled since May.

UPS is developing more so-called super-hubs across the US handling more shipments using highly automated technology.The trend is continuing as demand for same-day service accelerates fueled by more internet shopping and door-to-door delivery. The company is gearing up for the holiday shipping season 2020 in Visalia a year earlier than Amazon will do here – for the holiday season of 2021. With all those internet orders a recent analysis expects that e-commerce will require more than 3x the logistics space of brick-and-mortar sales, according to 2019 data.

Global e-commerce sales are projected to more than double to $6.5 trillion by 2023, according to Statista. The Boston Consulting Group estimates U.S. e-commerce sales will double too, to $1 trillion, growing at six times the rate of all retail transactions.

Those projections came before the coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted an explosion in online shopping by people avoiding brick-and-mortar stores because of stay-home orders or fear of being infected by the virus. Best Buy recently reported that e-commerce sales grew 242% from the year-ago quarter and now represent 53% of total sales. VF Corp recently posted e-commerce earnings enjoying a surge as well.

The side-by-side locations of UPS and Amazon in Visalia may encourage a mutual feeding frenzy in our future. Amazon is UPS’ largest customer, accounting for almost 12% of UPS’ $74 billion in revenue last year. Besides taxes, payroll and the job impacts of the double powerhouses of UPS and Amazon, the developments will clearly draw more companies to Visalia say officials. Already 5 more spec buildings are nearing completion within a country block of the two centers.

CapRock itself has 300 more acres just to the north of the Amazon/UPS sites and Fresno developer John Brelsford ,who already has a dozen tenant-filled big buildings in the industrial park, has 150 acres at the NWC of Plaza and Riggin. CapRock too has plans to build another 500,000sf spec building just north of Amazon.

The coming of all this new industry along the city’s northern edge is going to further juice homebuilding in this area and spur other development along Riggin that now ties to Hwy 99 – a continuous 4-lane artery.To the west of Plaza, Brelsford plans several million square feet of new industrial space and sources say Tevelde has long range plans to annex land not yet in the city north of Riggin,plenty more land almost to Hwy 99.

http://sierra2thesea.net/central-valley/double-double-combo-in-visalia

By Faughn Distribution • Food Processing 0 Comments

Despite economic hardships, almond industry continues to thrive

ANGELINA MARTIN
Updated: Sep 8, 2020, 7:42 PM

A recent report published by the Almond Board of California shows that despite a currently challenging trade environment, global shipments of almonds continue to increase as the industry navigates through tough times.

California almond growers are consistently producing crops at record or near-record levels year after year, meaning the industry must constantly work to expand existing export markets and continue to grow demand in those regions — while also keeping an eye on new opportunities at the global level. In the past year, the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with China’s continued tariffs, have continued to pose a problem for growers looking to move their nuts from California ports to export markets.

During the 2019-2020 crop year, California produced 2.55 billion pounds of almonds. Nearly 1.6 billion pounds were exported, while domestic shipments accounted for 774 million pounds. This represents nearly parallel growth between the two compared to 2018-2019, when domestic shipments grew 4.5 percent and exports grew five percent. The ABC credits this continued growth to the industry’s investment in nutrition research, as well as development of the global market.

The ABC expanded its nutrition research into the area of beauty in the past year, and is also building demand through consumer marketing programs in 11 countries, from India and Japan to the U.S. and Mexico.

“One of the things that I first noticed when I joined the Almond Board four years ago was the passion and pride staff have in helping grow this industry,” Vice President of Global Market Development Emily Fleischmann states in the report, “and that fire continues. It’s what has helped our teams launch innovative new campaigns like ‘Do You Almond’ in the UK this past year and what helps almonds remain the number one nut in new product introductions for 10 years running.”

Forthcoming partnerships include a campaign with Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings, a brand-new campaign in France and the ABC’s first digital program in India.

India received 256 million pounds of almonds from the U.S. in 2019-2020, followed by Spain (193 million), Germany (134 million) and China (99 million). Global trade tensions with China have changed the landscape of priority markets, according to the report.

“Five years ago, China was our second-largest export destination. It stayed as the third-largest market for several years, surpassed only by the strong growth of the Indian market,” said Julie Adams, vice president of Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs for the ABC.

Adams went on to explain that retaliatory tariffs implemented by China two years ago derailed progress that had been made, with the country previously poised to expand amid an increasing middle class and economic growth.

“Starting in April 2018, we saw the impact of the trade war, which took almonds from a 10 percent tariff to the current 55 percent tariff,” Adams said. “Over the last two years, shipments to China/Hong Kong dropped 25percent in crop year 2018-19 and another 23 percent in crop year 2019-20, with Australia benefiting.”

Although China has dropped to fourth in the line of top U.S. export destinations, the country is still key to building demand for expanded crop production. Many trade issues take a long time to resolve, Adams stated, but it is still essential to engage in positive interactions with difficult markets so that a solution can be found quickly

The report states that global appeal among customers and consumers worldwide is clearly reflected in the almond industry’s regional shipments, and that being well diversified helps counteract trade disruptions that can unexpectedly come up in one market or another. For example, India and China have historically been the primary destination for in-shell markets, but now India has absorbed much of those shipments.

In India, almonds are the number one ag import at $732 million, accounting for 40 percent of all U.S. ag exports to India. In the United Arab Emirates, almonds are the number one ag import and account for around 23 percent of total U.S. ag exports. “There are so many growth opportunities around the globe,” Adams said. “For years, the Middle East and Africa were a small share of exports, but now they represent almost 20 percent.” While acknowledging the many challenges facing California almonds, Adams also believes “the opportunities are limitless.”

https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/local/despite-economic-hardships-almond-industry-continues-thrive/#:~:text=A%20recent%20report%20published%20by,industry%20navigates%20through%20tough%20times.&text=During%20the%202019%2D2020%20crop,2.55%20billion%20pounds%20of%20almonds.