Dive Brief:

• DHL eCommerce Solutions has relocated from its St. Louis, Missouri facility to Kansas City, Missouri, which will process more volume and meet growing demand in the Midwest, DHL said in a June 6 announcement.
• The new facility is double in size at 124,700 square feet. The approximately $18 million investment is expected to help process more domestic volumes and ship throughout the Midwest.
• The distribution center will employ more than 125 workers. It also has two automated parcel sorters from NPI, which processes 28,000 parcels per hour to tubs, carts and gaylords.

Dive Insight:

In 2021, DHL eCommerce Solutions set out to invest $300 million in the U.S. over the next five years — the nearly $18 million relocation is a step towards that goal.

Back then, DHL said it would be increasing its network's square footage by 70% and adding automation in all of its U.S. distribution centers.

This year alone, the company has also relocated two other facilities, in Stow, Ohio and Salt Lake City. And the St. Louis facility's parcel sorters now join a suite of automated tools operated by the logistics provider, which also include robotic sorting systems.

Demand in the Midwest has also been growing for a while — and logistics providers and shippers alike are paying attention.

The region has had a boom in commercial real estate of late, according to JLL's 2022 Midwest Industrial Outlook. The report indicates facility operators in the region benefit from higher land availability, a strong labor pool and having market access to potentially 50% of the population within a one-day truck drive.

"The Kansas City metropolitan area is rapidly expanding, and it’s the perfect location for DHL eCommerce Solutions to have a larger, fully customized facility that will assist us in growing our footprint in the Midwest,” CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions in the Americas Lee Spratt said in a statement.