Key Points

Gross Regional Product$22.9 Billion

Workforce (Employees)190,049

Companies12,213

Revised 09/21/17

With its central geographic location and convenient access to all major modes of transportation, Chicago is the U.S.’s leading transportation and logistics hub. A primary junction for trucking, rail, and air transportation, it is the largest inland port in North America.1

The efficient movement of large volumes of goods is a major driver of the metro economy. Freight impacts many of the region’s sectors, including manufacturing, wholesale, and retail.

The freight sector comprises 190,049 jobs and generates a GRP of $22.9 billion.• Illustrated below, freight transportation activities account for

136,899 of these jobs (84% of the sector total) and $19.9 billion of the region’s GRP. Within this segment, the Chicago metro is a national leader in employment and output in truck, air and rail.

• Warehousing and storage account for an additional 38,734 jobs and $2.9 billion in annual output.

Freight

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Freight EmploymentMetro Comparison Employees (Thousands)

Total Value of Goods Moved Through Region$1.3 Trillion

Truck28.4%

Warehousing20.4%

Support19.9%

Air19.5%

Couriers7.6%

Rail3.7%

Water0.3% Pipeline

0.2%

244.6

190.0

176.8

168.5

131.2

119.6

97.6

95.0

79.1

67.3

NYC

Chicago

LA

Dallas

Atlanta

Houston

Miami

Riverside

Philadelphia

Memphis

Busiest rail hub in the United States

Truck Transportation

• Freight moved by truck accounts for 76% of total freight tonnage and 71% of total freight value in Chicago.

• 9 major interstate corridors intersect in the region; the state of Illinois contains 2,185 interstate miles, ranking 3rd in the U.S.

• By value, leading commodities shipped by truck include machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and petroleum.2

Air Transportation

• Two major international airports within the city limits: O’Hare International and Midway International.

• MIT ranked O’Hare International as the #1 best connected airport in the U.S.

• With representation by major commercial carriers including United (Chicago headquarters), American, and Southwest, Chicago airports handled 100.6 million passengers and 1.8 million tons of cargo in 2016.

Rail Transportation

• The Chicago region is the nation’s hub of rail freight: six of the nation’s seven Class I railroads have major terminals in Chicago.

• Nearly half of the nation’s intermodal rail traffic passes through Chicago1; 500 freight and 700 passenger trains pass through the region every day.

• By value, leading commodities shipped by rail include chemicals, coal, fertilizers, and plastics and rubber.

53,998 Jobs 8,900 Companies $5.8 Billion GRP

37,051 Jobs 205 Companies $6.9 Billion GRP

7,011 Jobs 6 Class I Railroads $1.8 Billion GRP

Warehousing & Storage 38,734 Jobs 467 Companies $2.9 Billion GRP

I-88 Gateway Logistics Center in Aurora

O’Hare International Airport

#1 largest trucking workforce in the nation

Only “dual-hub” airport system in North America

Interstate 90

Union Pacific Freight Train in Geneva

• With 604.8 million square feet of warehouse/distribution property, the Chicago region has one of the largest concentrations of storage and distribution space in the U.S.

• Increasing efficiency: 26% of the region’s distribution development since 2000 is within three miles of an intermodal facility.3

• Warehousing serves various economic sectors including retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and food processing.

2nd-largest warehousing market in the country

Canadian Pacific Intermodal Terminal in Bensenville

• Chicago has more than 50 intermodal terminals and service depots, including the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, which is the largest inland port in North America.

• Chicago is a hub for the third-party logistics industry; employment in this sector is highly concentrated compared to peer metros (1.6x the national average).

• Fast-growing logistics companies Echo Global Logistics, Coyote Logistics, and C.H. Robinson are at the forefront of leveraging new technologies to manage the region’s increasingly complex supply chains.

Logistics

Company Type Local Employees (estimated)

FedEx Couriers 4,800UPS Couriers 3,700Northeast Illinois Railroad Corp. (Metra) Rail 3,000Canadian National Rail 3,000United Continental Holdings, Inc. Air 3,000C.H. Robinson Logistics 2,000American Airlines, Inc. Air 1,900YRC Worldwide, Inc. Trucking 1,900National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Rail 1,700Echo Global Logistics Logistics 1,150BNSF Railway Co. Rail 1,000Union Pacific Railroad Co. Rail 1,000Schneider National Trucking 1,000Coyote Logistics Logistics 1,000Dry Storage Corporation (DSC Logistics) Logistics 1,000Southwest Airlines, Inc. Air 900Norfolk Southern Rail 825Canadian Pacific Rail 800CSX Corporation Rail 800J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trucking 800Hub Group Logistics 800

21,777 Jobs 1,039 Companies $2.3 Billion GRP

Largest intermodal container handler in the Western Hemisphere

1Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning:”Intermodalism - Metropolitan Chicago’s Built-In Economic Advantage,” 20152Freight Analysis Framework, 20133Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning: “Industrial Development Trends in the CMAP Region,” 2015Notes: Data reflects NAICS codes 481 Air Transportation, 482 Rail Transportation, 483 Water Transportation, 484 Truck Transportation, 486 Pipeline Transportation, 488 Support Activities for Transportation (additional reporting for 4885 Freight Transportation Arrangement), 492 Couriers and Messengers, 493 Warehousing and Storage. Local employee estimates based on analysis of total number of employees reported and LinkedIn data. Sources: Moody’s Analytics (2015-2016 data), Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2016 data), Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Illinois Department of Transportation, Freight Analysis Framework, MIT Connectivity Ranking Report (2013) Chicago Department of Aviation (2016 data), Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program, Jones Lang LaSalle, CoStar, CenterPoint Properties, Hoovers (2015 data), Manufacturers News, Inc (2015 data), LinkedIn, Crain’s Chicago Business. Photo credits: Opus Group, O’Hare International Airport, Flickr users Nick Normal, Bill Meller, Josh M Cherian, manoj mp (all Creative Commons licenses).

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World Business Chicago is a public-private, non-profit partnership that drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports business, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city. For more information visit worldbusinesschicago.com or call 312.553.0500.