urbanSTL

Regarding competitive positioning by Lambert and MidAmerica: I'm more of the mind to see split duties coming from each. Lambert would serve as the primary base of incoming cargo flights for distribution through the central US, and MidAmerica would operate as the mid-range stop-off for Chinese flights into Latin America. I don't see this cross-positioning derailing talks.

I understand the point made in the P-D article, but I don't think that the Chinese businesses are going to be confused.

When I first saw the headline, I figured they'd be talking about the tri-city port as Illinois' strategy. I guess this makes sense too. How is the freight connection between the two airports? Just trucks? How do they connect to the ports?

^Absolutely too early to pop champagne. You know the old expression about counting chickens before they hatch, and being a sports town, you also know about the jinx factor. Same time, it would be smart to have a couple bottles chilled for the announcement.

Also: The article says that any launch may start with only 1 flight every 2-3 days. This is very appropriate and a good sign. The Big Idea is a long-term economic development concept, and with the properties ancillary to the airport ripe for build-out, this could be THE game changer over the next ten years for the region.

Moorlander: Chill the champagne, but crack open a couple beers for now.

There likely won't be a moment to celebrate (maybe a Chinese 747 landing at Lambert for the first time?), but a slow increase in economic activity.

That's certainly the hope! Maybe if Judge Dierker were as excited as you Mr. McKee would still have his $390M TIF!

What I find fascinating is how this would be a different logistics hub than that for any of the proximate major 3 shipping company hubs (Memphis, Indy, and Louisville). They hub the major shipments for their respective companies, wherein trucks bring in packages set to be delivered from all over the country, and they fly these packages on planes to other cities.

For StL, we would be having direct shipments between the US and China on flights holding multiple producers' goods. While much of it would be perishable foods like beef & pork, it assumedly will also grow to complex, time-specific deliveries, including high-end manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. For these products, manufacturers would want to set up proximate manufacturing sites for direct drop-off at the airport. Where FedEx gets their packages sent to Memphis from all over, we would have many shippers choose to move to StL and originate their manufacturing directly at the point of export. It really is amazing.

Whether it starts with food products like Hershey, or pharm products by Pfizer or GSK, or sensitive electronics by Dell or Cisco, we'll be due to see increased manufacturing grow from any set trading relationship, and with that new manufacturers.

My favorite angle: If the pharmaceutical angle is feasible, and it could better meet a Chinese demand for prescription drugs or high-grade supplements, we could see marked growth in major pharmaceutical companies locating here. Moving forward, it could provide for more growth to the BioBelt idea, increasing investment in CORTeX, and demand for chemists, researchers, and other scientists to StL. The thought of US-China Pharmaceutical Joint Ventures based domestically in Saint Louis is very feasible with time.

Dredger wrote:The other angle to me, is this part of bigger idea that goes well beyond what is on the mind of local leaders. In other words, do the Chinese consider this as one piece of the puzzle to build a competing brand to rival Fedex, UPS, DHL on the international scene. If so, it makes sense to establish their own North American hub versus an alliance. As noted, their is already multiple air freight/shipping hubs with the infrastructure in place to acccept planes.

Absolutely. One of the reasons why Chinese freight haulers are the specific targets of our negotiation is their strategy for US goods being shipped to East Asia a la FedEx.

I'd happily have StL be their carrier's US hub.

Ditto for Air China passenger service.

has anyone else noticed how more Asian STL is getting?
Great to see the diversity.
But seriously, we were downtown and at Lumiere this last weekend and the Asian population presence in STL has exploded.
I love it.

Also saw this article:
Springfield, MO News Leader:

Stores adjust to influx of Chinese college students
July 12, 2010

"While Springfield is no St. Louis, or any major city in California with much bigger Chinese populations, and still lacks in variety, Xi said Chinese students can find in Springfield what they need to please their stomachs."

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20107120364

Boyd:

...a St. Louis-China freight connection is impractical given the cost of transporting cargo via air.....It's very expensive to move something by air, and it's only worth it to move cargo to a market where it's immediatly produced or consumed....Unless you have an immediate generator of cargo demand in St. Louis, the idea of putting a cargo hub there doesn't make sense...

Sounds like it's only a matter of time until serious MO/STL tax subsidies are offered for this idea.

If the China Hub idea takes off, i.e. tens of cargo flights a day to and from China, the fees can come down. Memphis, for instance charges only $ 1.35 per 1,000 pounds because of the great number of FEDEX flights.

Boyd is pointing out that you need to generate cargo demand. This is the single most important issue being researched and eventually resolved by the China Hub Committee. (I am optimistic.)

He's right when he states that it's only worth to move cargo to a market where it's immediatly produced or consumed. But that's the whole point. Tons of cargo are now flown to for instance LA and then shipped by freight train to the Midwest. It costs exactly the same to fly these goods directly to the central USA, (STL) where it needs to go in the first place.

Another important issue is that 80% of Chinese exports are now handled by non-Chinese carriers. The Chinese want to fly their products themselves. A St. Louis hub could help them achieve this goal.

^ Yes, decisions are imminent, and we'll know about the viability of this going forward within the next 6 months. And I am extremely excited to know how it goes. Personally, I'm of the belief that we will be having something like 4 flights / week between StL and the PRC, elevating that to be daily, and eventually being multiple daily flights (but not necessarily for years).

Hard to keep from being excited. Until then, I'll try to relax and reflect upon these guys' message: