The changing and complexifying geography of logistics activity in U.S. metropolitan areas

This paper examines the spatial distribution of logistics activity (trucking & warehousing) across and within fifty of the largest US metropolitan areas between 2005 and 2020, using Gini coefficients at the county level to measure concentration. Previous research has shown decentralization corresponding with suburbanization and the growth of larger warehouses to meet consumer demand. However, the rapid growth in e-commerce since 2005 suggests that re-centralization may be occurring as logistics providers develop fulfillment centers closer to the centers of population. In this paper, we find that this re-centralization does in fact seem to be occurring, but in a more complicated pattern than before. Warehousing is still decentralizing in logistical hubs and cities in the shadow of those hubs but is re-concentrating in other, smaller metropolitan areas that serve as local and regional logistics centers. We find strong evidence for the formation of a national logistics network, with different cities playing different roles. Furthermore, rather than one spatial pattern of decentralization for logistics activity within metropolitan areas, we find multiple possible patterns, corresponding to the city's location in that national network. • A spatial re-concentration of logistics activity is occurring in most U.S. cities, via the Gini index at the county level. • Instead of most cities following the same pattern, a nationwide network of logistics hubs is forming. • It is important to consider trucking and warehousing separately when investigating these processes. • We developed a four-part typology of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., with 10–15 cities in each category.