Logistics / Infrastructure
Recent Features
Speed Built In—The Real Differentiator for 2026 Site Selection Projects
After a year where “shovel ready” often unraveled under scrutiny, the forward play is fewer unknowns and faster paths to operation—because constraints decide the field before incentives do.
Strategic Industries at the Crossroads: Defense, Aerospace, and Maritime Enter 2026
As industrial policy accelerated, the gap between ambition and execution widened: supply chain security, workforce clearance, and infrastructure bottlenecks revealed the unforgiving realities of building strategic industries at home.
The Geography of Packaging: Why Location Strategy Matters More Than Ever
Smarter expansion begins with smarter location decisions — especially as automation, sustainability, and supply chain risk redefine the packaging industry.
In Focus: Korea’s Blueprint for Sustainable U.S. Expansion
Why advanced manufacturers are treating site selection as a long-term business strategy, not a transaction.
Preparing for the Next USMCA Shake-Up
Business leaders should brace for potential costs and disruptions as North America’s free trade deal heads for review.
The Cold Chain Sector Recalibration
A surge of new supply, aging legacy facilities, and shifting operator strategies are creating a widening divide between modern, efficient assets and obsolete space across the nation’s cold storage footprint.
Last Word: Smart Executives Are Paying Attention to Rural Opportunity Zones
The permanent extension of Opportunity Zones under the 2025 OBBBA creates a rare opening for business leaders to shape where federal investment flows — and rural America may hold the strongest opportunities for long-term strategic growth.
Around the Horn: Data Center Supply Chains — What's Next?
Area Development magazine caught up with its Q2 guest editors, Ford Graham and Steven Pearce from McGuireWoods consulting, to talk about their reporting on data center supply chains. We also invited Ermengarde Jabir Director of Economic Research at Moody’s to join the discussion.
Where MedTech Grows Best
How data, labor, and logistics drive location decisions for next-gen MedTech manufacturing.
Too Much of a Good Thing: Can Overbuilt Spec Development Benefit Manufacturers?
Power supply, infrastructure, and specs often fall short for manufacturers eyeing overbuilt logistics sites.
2025’s Top States for Business: How the Winners Are Outpacing the Rest
Speed, workforce alignment, and energy infrastructure now define the best states for doing business — not just incentives or tax breaks. Our exclusive rankings break down how the top performers are staying ahead in a tightening market.
Supply Chain Whiplash Reshapes CRE
Power, ports, and unpredictability are pushing manufacturers to rethink their entire real estate approach.
How Canada Stays Competitive
As trade tensions mount, Canada’s supply chain reboot aims to retain foreign investment and reduce risk exposure.
Manufacturing’s New Risk Game for Site Selection
Companies face growing challenges as tariffs, political shifts, and trade policies disrupt location strategies.
Optimizing Your Rail-Served Transportation Network: Strategy Before Steel
Infrastructure can power your supply chain—but only when planned with foresight.
Why Cold Storage May Defy the Tariff Crunch
Food related projects remain resilient as tariff pressures shake other sectors of commercial real estate
The Quest for Logistics Supremacy
With supply chain pressures mounting, America’s logistics network is being rebuilt from the ground up and states are competing for the infrastructure edge by investing in ports, air cargo, and cold storage.
The New Math Behind Mexico and U.S. Manufacturing Decisions
Rising wages, grid strain, and policy shifts are changing the calculus for manufacturers in North America.
39th Annual Corporate & 21st Annual Consultants Surveys: What Business Leaders and Consultants Are Saying About Site Selection
The findings from Area Development’s annual surveys provide a comprehensive look at how decision-makers are navigating the current landscape and what factors are shaping their investment plans.
Navigating the new era of SCIF construction
Changing compliance standards, heightened geopolitical threats drive SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities) construction boom.
U.S. Tariff Outlook: Key Signals to Watch in 2025
How economic developers, manufacturers, and policymakers can prepare for potential trade shifts.
A Tale of Two Industrial Winds
Shifting supply chains, evolving trade policies, and new investment trends are reshaping the industrial real estate landscape.
Power, Policy, and Site Selection in 2025
Energy, tariffs, and trade are going to be a moving target in the coming months.
The Battle to Break China’s Rare Earth Supply Chain Dominance
U.S. faces challenges in reducing reliance on China for rare earths.
The Evolving Landscape of AI Infrastructure
AI is reshaping site strategy. This episode explores compressing “Time to First Token,” power-first location decisions, and the execution discipline executives need as data centers scale, faster than real estate cycles.
Editor's Note: Raising the Bar on Readiness
Contributed Content
Oklahoma’s Competitive Edge: Low Cost, High Performance
A central U.S. location delivering cost stability, logistics reach and industry-focused workforce development.
Contributed Content
Montgomery County, Maryland: A Global Hub for Growth and Innovation
Just outside Washington, D.C., Montgomery County pairs one of the nation’s most educated workforces with federal research assets, transit-connected development, and a deep life sciences cluster poised for its next phase of expansion.
Editor’s Note: Thriving at the Intersection of Change
First Person: Filter King’s Expansion Playbook
CEO Rick Hoskins explains how the fast-growing air filter company selects its sites, scales its labor-heavy operation, and maintains speed-to-customer across multiple U.S. regions.
Editor’s Note: Making Sense of the Shifts
If you’re reading this magazine, you’re likely grappling with questions that don’t have easy answers: Where will the next constraint show up? What will this election cycle do to capital flows? How do you build resilience without losing speed?
Contributed Content
Michigan Resilience: Global Infrastructure and Smart Investments Power Future Supply Chains
Michigan upgrades ports, invests in tech, and links talent to global trade for smarter, resilient supply chains.
Contributed Content
All Roads Lead to Kansas: Logistics and Distribution Thrive at the Center
Location, logistics parks, and workforce are a dominant force in this state’s distribution strategy.
First Person: René Buck, President & CEO, BCI Global
As founder and CEO of BCI Global, René Buck has led site selection projects and supply chain projects across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. We caught up with Buck to talk about the evolution of site selection, the impact of tariffs and geopolitics, and the advice he’s giving manufacturing executives right now.
Around the Horn: North America’s Trade Tensions
Charlie Smith, managing director of geopolitical strategy at Newmark Global Strategy discusses the current trade tensions across North America and their implications with his colleagues, managing director Carlos Sanchez (based in Mexico) and senior managing director Gregg Wassmansdorf (based in Canada).
