With a location that's equidistant from the East and West coasts, and just hours by air from any metro area in the country, Houston has become the distribution and logistics hub of choice for a growing number of companies. Add in affordable labor and operating costs, and a reputation for being one of the country's most livable cities, and our widespread popularity is no surprise.

Today's fast-paced world demands exceptional logistics and distribution. Here's how Houston makes it happen.
Locate or expand in Houston and take advantage of one the country's best geographic locations and some of the world's best support resources.

An in-the-middle-of-everything location
Our location makes us an ideal choice for companies that need national distribution for business or consumer products. And because we're in the central time zone, it's easy to communicate with businesses on both coasts-and anywhere in between.

Geographic Advantage

The Houston region provides a central location for all business operations.

Houston region geographic advantages:

• Central Time Zone: one hour behind East Coast, two hours ahead of West Coast, allowing for optimal communications with entire country.
• Equidistant from East and West Coasts: 1,630 miles to New York, 1,560 miles to Los Angeles; can reach any metro area within hours by air.
• Convenient to Port of Houston offering worldwide access (9 miles from City of Houston's business center) as well as three other seaports within the region.
• Convenient to two major passenger/air cargo airports - Bush Intercontinental Airport is located 23 miles north of the central business district and William P. Hobby Airport located to the southeast is a 15-minute drive from Houston's central business district.
• Mild Climate: only 17 days per year with temperatures of 32° F or less, allowing for year-round outdoor activities.

An exceptional transportation network.  

 

No matter which mode of transportation you're relying on to ship products and raw materials, you can count on Houston. We've made extensive investments in transportation infrastructure across the board and offer excellent intermodal resources.

 

Highways 

 

• $5 billion investment in infrastructure upgrades
• 3700+ lane miles of operable freeways and expressways
• 208 miles-more than any other U.S. city-of high-occupancy vehicle lanes
• On the "NAFTA superhighway" (proposed route) that will link Canada, the U.S., and Mexico

 

Intermodal facilities and trucking resources 

 

• 11 primary intermodal facilities
• Excellent integration between trucking and other transportation links

 

Railroads  

 

• 700,000 rail cars arrive/depart annually-one of the busiest rail centers in the country
• 14 mainline tracks from Houston
• Port access directly to railroads
• 150 industries have direct links to the system
• 6 intermodal terminals directly connected to rail system
• 800 miles of mainline tracks and 21 miles of railroad bridges in regional system

 

Ports 

 

• 1st U.S. port in volume of foreign tonnage
• 2nd U.S. port for total tonnage
• 7th largest U.S. container port
• 16th largest port in the world
• Connects directly to two major railroads, 150 trucking lines and 1000 international ports

 

Airports 

 

• 4th largest multi-airport system in the country
• Two major passenger/air cargo airports within 23 miles of Houston-George Bush Intercontinental (IAH)-with a new $440 million international terminal-and William P. Hobby (HOU)
• Additional commercial shipping available through Ellington Airport (EFD), a military air base
• 3rd in the U.S. for nonstop destinations (IAH)
• 120 domestic and 70 international destinations

 

Learn more about our transportation and infrastructure.

 

A diverse, dependable labor pool that's affordable-and growing
Whether you need large numbers of affordable labor or access to distribution and logistics management experts with years of experience, you'll find what you're looking for in Houston.

 

Houston is one of the country's youngest, most diverse and most rapidly growing metro areas. According to the Census Bureau, the region's population grew 25.2% between 1990 and 2000, nearly double the national average of 13.2%. The region has the second youngest median age in the country among large metropolitan areas-32.9-and nearly 45% of the population falls into the critical 25-54 age range.

 

Houston offers an ample supply of distribution and logistics expertise at very affordable rates.

 

Expertise you won't find anywhere else
Houston's workforce is 2.7 million people strong and offers a breadth and depth of logistics and distribution knowledge and experience.

 

We beat national labor force averages in these key employment categories¹:

 

• 13x more pipeline transportation resources
• 5x more water transportation employees
• 2x more support for transportation
• 36% more wholesale/durable goods experience
• 31% more rental and leasing services expertise
• 26% more repair and maintenance employees

 

Educational partnerships help create tomorrow's workforce 

 

Houston recognizes the critical role educational excellence plays in developing a strong workforce. We have a network of more than 42 colleges, universities and other degree-granting institutions, including 10 exceptional local community colleges, plus more than 770 excellent vocational and technical schools.

 

Excellent labor relations
Union activity is roughly one-third the U.S. average and has slowed so dramatically that the National Labor Relations Board has moved most operations out of the city. In the last five years there has been only one strike in the Houston area and fewer than 700 employees were affected by union elections.

 

One of the largest concentrations of available industrial space in the U.S.-at some of the lowest rates in the country  

 

Houston's current inventory is more than 469 million sq. ft., with an additional 3.7 million sq. ft. under construction. Our rate costs are very competitive with markets across the country and substantially lower than those in leading distribution centers like Long Island, San Diego and Miami.

 

Incentives created with your needs in mind
The Houston area offers a variety of attractive state and local incentives including:

 

• Inventory tax exemptions
• Tax abatements on property, R&D and pollution control
• Sales tax exemptions
• Tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds
• Employee training grants
• Foreign trade zone

 

Abundant, stable, cost-effective utilities
A deregulated energy market in the majority of Texas means a choice of retail providers and affordable rates across all utility categories. And the region's commitment to developing Smart Grid technology will help reduce price volatility and improve energy management in the future.

 

A business-friendly tax haven-ranked #7 lowest nationally
Houston's state and local taxes are consistently below national averages, making our region an appealing place to locate or expand.

 

The #1 Place to Live, Work and Play? Houston.² 

 

Take a closer look at all that Houston has to offer and it's easy to see why people enjoy working and living here.

 

Houston's educational and healthcare resources are world-renowned and leisure options range from public parks, libraries and one of the country's Ten Best Zoos for Kids,³ to pro sports, art museums and ballet.

 

Affordable housing options abound at prices that are well below those of other major metropolitan areas. In fact, the second quarter 2009 ACCRA Cost of Living Index showed that Houston's housing costs are 26% below national averages and that overall after-taxes living costs are 11% lower.

 

When Houston is compared to 26 other metro areas with populations over two million, it does even better: housing costs are 46% below average and overall expenses are 20% lower. Houston residents keep more of their paycheck: local income tax rates are below national averages. Which means that it takes fewer dollars to have the same quality of life in Houston than in many of the country's top metropolitan areas. For instance, $50,000 in annual income in Houston is the equivalent of $130,000 in New York and $80,000 in Los Angeles.⁴
Public safety is a top priority in Houston and it shows: the crime rate has dropped significantly in the last decade and a considerable percentage of city and county operating budgets are dedicated to law enforcement.

 

Learn more about locating your distribution and logistics facility in Houston. Talk to our industry expert: Craig Rhodes.
Email Craig at crhodes@houston.org.