By Shefali Kapadia
Interstate 495 is in clear view from the berths at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware. One traffic light and one turn is all it takes for trucks departing the port to reach the highway and haul their containers to dense population centers along the East Coast.
And running parallel to the interstate, railroad tracks host CSX and Norfolk Southern, providing direct freight rail connections to Chicago and other points east of the Mississippi River.
This central location is one of the prime reasons Amazon and Dole have long-standing histories in the Small Wonder’s largest city. When Amazon began building its fulfillment network in 1997, two locations made the list: Seattle and Wilmington. And the Port of Wilmington has been the mid-Atlantic hub for Dole and Chiquita since the 1980s.
The location offers close access to customers and labor but lower taxes and land prices than many of the surrounding markets, according to real estate experts.
Dole and Amazon are expanding their footprints in the first state. New infrastructure is going up at the Port of Wilmington. And Amazon is gearing up to move into a five-story fulfillment center currently under construction.
These moves are poised to boost the entire mid-Atlantic region with businesses seeking capacity and services to support their supply chains.
SHEFALI KAPADIA 