A new report shows the number of people employed by logistics services firms in Hall County grew by 2,900 over the past three years.
The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, has just released an updated study of the growing Logistics Services Industry for the Gainesville-Hall County Metropolitan Area.
The Chamber conducted a similar study in 2015, and the current study highlights a growth in the number of logistics service firms from 65 to 80 with a significant increase in employment from some 1,900 employees in 2015 to just over 4,800 this year.
“Gainesville-Hall County has developed into a growth center for expertise in freight brokerage, third-party-logistics (3PL), cold-chain logistics and transportation services for freight,” says Tim Evans, Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. Many firms noted in the Chamber’s study have expanded in recent years, including Lanier Cold Storage, Mansfield Oil, Performance Foodservice, XPO Logistics, Syfan Logistics, Eskimo, Simpson Trucking & Grading, Tribe Transportation and Hollis Transport. One firm, Adams Transfer & Storage, recently celebrated a milestone of 115 years of business in Gainesville-Hall County.
The recent employment growth at logistics service providers in Gainesville-Hall County underscores the increasing need for specialized workforce development programs for logistics, according to the report. Nationally, there is an acute shortage of commercial truck drivers as a result of industry growth, retirements and the new scheduling requirements of Electronic Logging Devices. Lanier Technical College's new Hall County campus, which will be dedicated next month, includes a new commercial truck driving program and course. The new campus will offer training and specialized skills needed by logistics service providers and other businesses.
Dr. Ray Perren, President of Lanier Tech said, “The new home for Lanier Technical College in Hall County will allow us to offer a commercial truck driving program on campus for the first time and a new diesel technology program designed to support the logistics industry. The new facility will also allow us to expand on successful programs in material handling and ammonia refrigeration technologies used in cold-chain logistics. ”
A 2018 Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce survey of 54 Hall County businesses found 63% of respondents regularly import or export cargo, with some manufacturers importing as many as 100 cargo containers per month. Hall County is also a major exporter of finished goods from agricultural equipment, transportation equipment, and poultry products with some individual businesses exporting more than 1,000 cargo containers per month. Currently, cargo is moved by truck 250 miles or more to and from regional container port facilities, including the Port of Savannah. Recent infrastructure investments in the Georgia Ports Authority’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal at the Port of Savannah are making it possible to move more cargo by rail to and from inland port terminals like the new Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County in northwest Georgia.
