The Midwest: The Center of Everything

It’s called the Heartland for a reason: America’s midsection is a fertile farming mecca that provides many fruits and vegetables from flavorful melons and berries to super-sweet corn and asparagus. It is also a hub of national activity, crisscrossed by major transportation arteries that link growers and shippers from coast to coast.

The Midwest proffers important advantages for all players in the produce industry. For starters, there are six cities within a 558-mile radius totaling 3.34 million people: Des Moines, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Add Chicago and Columbus, and this figure jumps to 6.88 million. Interstates 90, 75, 70, 65, 64, 55, and 43 weave these Midwestern cities together, optimizing accessibility.

The region also benefits from several wholesale terminal markets located in Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, and Chicago. Proximity to the Great Lakes is another prime plus. “Water is key to many processes of a value-added produce supplier,” cites Sam J. Maglio, Jr., president Maglio & Company, a receiver and distributor based in Milwaukee. “Lake Michigan provides us with an excellent source of fresh water, both for growing in our greenhouses, and for manufacturing operations within the warehouse,” he explains. Lake Erie is similarly advantageous to Ohio’s producers.

Transportation Nexus
While the Midwest itself is considered a hub for North America, several cities within the region are shipping and distribution hubs in their own right. “Cincinnati is well known for logistics companies,” asserts Jason Brown, CEO of Cincinnati, OH’s Overland Xpress, LLC. “Two other reasons we’re located here is it’s a growing city, and there are a lot of young professionals moving here.”

Jimmy DeMatteis, president of Des Moines Truck Brokers, Inc. delivers produce to a number of distribution centers in the Midwest, and occasionally to customers in Chicago. Like Brown, he believes his home base is crucial to the trade in both the United States and Canada. “Des Moines is the crossroads of the United States, with interstates 80 and 35 going through our city. We’re on the main thoroughfare from Texas to Canada, and from California to New Jersey,” he comments. “Another advantage,” he stresses, is that Iowa “is an agricultural state by nature, and we’re in the heart of it.”

Both Brown and DeMatteis are experiencing growth, which comes with its own set of headaches. “We’re having our best year ever,” shares Brown, and explains Overland Xpress also has a hub in Florida. “So far, the Midwest is outpacing Florida in terms of growth.”