Airport expansions and improvements in the region figure to enhance Central California's already strong logistics sector.
      Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FYI) recently completed a terminal expansion and plans construction of 200,000 sq. ft. (18,580 sq. m.) of hangar space for air cargo. The expansion figures to boost the burgeoning logistics cluster surrounding the airport, says Dave Spaur, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County. Although FYI has International in its name, it currently doesn't have international flights. That may change as Mexico's Mexicana Airlines has expressed interest in serving the airport with flights to several
cities in Mexico.

	Red stars indicate locations of projects cited in this article.

      Companies operating large distribution centers in the Fresno area such as Best Buy, Kraft Foods and Sony Music (along with UPS, Airborne, Federal Express and several third party logistics providers) have formed an organization known as the Logistics Cluster. They meet monthly to discuss issues facing the industry.
      "What we want is to provide better services to existing logistics companies so they can grow and prosper in Fresno," Spaur says, adding that members of the cluster help identify which customers and suppliers should be attracted to the area. "By forming the cluster, we discovered that we were already a distribution hub or logistics center for California and didn't realize it until the industry members told us."
      Spaur says the Logistics Cluster is also working with California State University, Fresno, to develop a partnership that would add a logistics degree to the university's marketing program.
      Fresno County's warehouse and distribution sector, currently more than 5 million sq. ft. (464,500 sq. m.) of space, may see even more growth if the county is able to accommodate a request by the Port of Oakland. Spaur says Oakland port officials are seeking inland "relief ports" to handle demand propelled by products pouring in from China. Under the proposal, goods would be shipped to Fresno to clear customs and then be distributed.
      "They are looking for partners to increase their capacity,"
says Spaur.
      However, he says the key to any future deal would be the completion of Hwy. 180 to connect Hwy. 99 to I-5. "Without a thoroughfare, it doesn't make sense," he says.
      Spaur says his organization is exploring the possibility of developing an industrial park on fallow farmland along Hwy. 5. What is clear is the current demand for distribution space. "We have companies knocking down our door and we don't have enough product to supply them," he says.
      Merced County's Castle Airport, Aviation & Development Center, site of a former Air Force base, has spent $6 million on facility upgrades and is seeking to develop 700 of the airport business park's 1,800 acres (729 hectares). Its 12,800-ft. (3,901-m.) overstressed runway, which has served as a designated alternative space shuttle landing site, makes it attractive for air cargo operations.
      Recent distribution projects across the region include the purchase of the former Pirelli Tire plant in Hanford by the STG Group, a private investment firm in Santa Rosa. STG plans to renovate the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. (102,190 sq.-m.) facility into a distribution, warehouse and manufacturing facility called the Cal Central Business Park.