hen the world's largest package-delivery company operates its global air hub in your state, good things happen.
   Having the nation's third-busiest cargo airport (and the ninth-busiest in the world) also tends to be conducive to business growth. Manufacturing and shipping interests also like having access to the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee and other rivers, an excellent network of interstates and parkways, and top-notch rail service.
   Kentucky has all that – as well as central location and lower costs. It all adds up to good business sense for logistics.
   Kentucky scores well on objective reviews of logistics capabilities. The state's two largest metro areas – Louisville-Southern Indiana and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky – are both ranked in the top 10 metros nationally in the 2007 "Logistics Quotient" rankings from a prominent business magazine focusing on expansion and relocation.
   The list of logistics operations locating in Kentucky recently is impressive and continues to grow. The list includes such names as Zappos.com, Geek Squad, Brightpoint Services, GSI Commerce, Fulfillment Concepts Inc., and Amazon.com.    Much of Kentucky's burgeoning importance as a logistics center can be traced to the ongoing growth of UPS.
   UPS revealed in May 2006 that it was undertaking a $1 billion expansion of UPS Worldport in Louisville, just four years after an equally massive expansion. The latest expansion increases sorting capacity by 60 percent and adds 5,000 UPS employees to the 22,000-plus already working in Kentucky.
   The spinoff effect of UPS is phenomenal. A 2006 study showed that UPS had served as a catalyst for approximately 90 companies to either locate in Kentucky or expand their operations here in the previous five years, investing more than $1.2 billion and bringing more than 13,800 new jobs.
   Rather than stick to packages, UPS is increasingly becoming its corporate customers' strategic partner. In many cases, UPS boosts companies' margins while managing their supply chains, repairing their products or even answering their phones.
   An economic impact study by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development shows the latest UPS expansion will have a tremendous effect on Kentucky's economic pulse. The direct annual economic impact of new full- and part-time jobs alone will be approximately $344.8 million, plus an additional $400 million in indirect and induced jobs.
   UPS has taken full advantage of Kentucky's innovative incentive programs, but of course, many more factors help keep UPS here. Kentucky's central location is a big one, along with lower costs, a high quality of life, a culturally diverse workforce that's readily available and productive, and excellent rail and river transport.
   The UPS hub is headquartered at Louisville International Airport, one of two major international airports in the state. The other is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG), which serves as a major hub for Delta and is the base of operations for the Delta subsidiary Comair. Annual passenger volume at CVG has doubled in the past decade, now exceeding 20 million.
   Commercial airports are also located in Lexington, Owensboro and Paducah.    With ports on the east and west coasts getting more and more congested, many international shippers are looking for alternative routes into – and out of – America's heartland. Kentucky provides that alternative – barges, which are far less expensive than truck or rail.
   Kentucky has about 1,100 miles of commercially navigable waterways, providing an expedient two-way route between inland markets and major ports on the Gulf of Mexico.
   The Ohio River alone flows 664 miles along the northern border of Kentucky. Seven public riverports operate facilities at Henderson, Hickman, Louisville, Lyon County, Owensboro, Paducah and Wurtland.
   The busiest port is in Paducah, situated on the Ohio and within close proximity to the Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Paducah has always been a river town, but within the past year the pace has quickened, with several barge companies making major moves.
   For example, Ingram Barge, the largest inland towing company in the U.S., opened a new operations center in Paducah in early 2007, employing more than 200. Western Rivers Boat Management Inc. announced in May that it was moving its headquarters here from Arkansas. The Crounse Corporation, another major barge company, announced in the spring it would build a new headquarters here. And a regional carrier, Hunter Marine, announced a new operations center.
   Back on land, Paducah is served by Interstate 24, part of an exceptional highway system in Kentucky that also includes Interstates 65, 75, 64, and 71, four interstate bypass loops, and a network of limited-access state parkways.
   Numerous railroads serve Kentucky with 2,760 miles of track, including 2,299 miles of Class I track. Railroads operating in the state include CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National Railway Company, and the Paducah and Louisville Railway.
   Whatever route you take, Kentucky is here for you, with the logistical support your company needs to thrive.
   Come to Kentucky and write your own success story. Find out how by calling 800-626-2930 or visiting www.ThinkKentucky.com.