Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Ranked 5th in U.S. for Transportation and Warehousing Employment Growth

Wilkes-Barre, PA, May 07, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s top locations for growth in the logistics sector.

On its web site, labor market research firm Economic Modeling Specialists Intl (EMSI) listed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area 5th in the U.S. for total employment growth in the warehousing and storage sector from 2010 through 2013. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with 8,869 jobs created, finished behind Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario, California; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana; and Memphis, Tennessee. Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, Pennsylvania finished 6th.

American Eagle Outfitters, Amazon.com, Corning, The Home Depot, Benco Dental, Neiman Marcus and Boden USA are just some of the firms that have opened major distribution centers in Northeastern Pennsylvania in recent years.

The region's largest developer, Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services has fielded a steady stream requests for industrial space in recent months. “We are encouraged by what we are seeing,” said Mericle Vice President of Marketing Jim Cummings. “We are receiving requests for space from a variety of manufacturers and distributors.”

Cummings added that Northern New Jersey, historically one of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s top competitors, is struggling to supply large industrial sites for new construction. “We are submitting lease proposals for projects of all sizes, from 10,000 square feet to 1 million square feet, but we are hearing from our national broker contacts that large sites are becoming very scarce in New Jersey,” said Cummings. “We believe New Jersey’s loss will be our gain.”

eCommerce fulfillment, a growth sector in Northeastern Pennsylvania, will likely continue to expand said Cummings.

Research conducted recently by Mericle determined that 18 of the top 500 Internet retailers have distribution centers in the area. These include Mericle clients such as Amazon.com, American Eagle Outfitters, BabyAge.com, J.P. Boden, CVS Caremark, All About Dance/Discount Dance Supply, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, The Men’s Wearhouse, NBTY, The Neiman Marcus Group, Sears, and Webgistix/Rakuten.

“More than 51 million people live within 200 miles of Wilkes-Barre,” said Cummings. “Our proximity to the major east coast consumption zones combined with affordable operating costs and an ample supply of available buildings and fully prepared sites will continue to be attractive to these eCommerce companies.”

Cummings said Mericle designed its ReadyToGo!™ Program to make sure it had a wide variety of buildings and sites immediately available to accommodate inquiries from distribution, manufacturing, office, and healthcare clients. Through the program, Mericle is fully preparing 90 sites in 11 business parks throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and is constructing buildings on speculation to keep up with market demand. So far, Mericle has completed 37 ReadyToGo!™ Sites.

Neiman Marcus, Maximus, C3i, and Greiner Packaging recently located in buildings Mericle had constructed on speculation on ReadyToGo!™ Sites. Together, the firms are creating more than 1,000 new jobs.

“We are prepared for the resurgence in industrial growth but we are ready for all types of tenants,” said Cummings. “We are very confident in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s ability to compete for new projects and new jobs.”

Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services, founded by Robert K. Mericle, is a vertically-integrated company with more than 200 in-house professionals with expertise in all aspects of commercial real estate development and construction. The Mericle team includes licensed architects, land planners, professional engineers, surveyors, licensed electricians, plumbers, carpenters, certified public accountants, in-house legal counsel, leasing and marketing professionals, licensed brokers, property managers, and more.