Logistics

Unsurpassed Transportation Infrastructure

Easy access to major highways without the congestion found in most urban centers allows Rockford an efficient system for land transportation. Continuous switching service on major railways connects the area to intermodal hubs and coastal ports throughout North America. The UPS air hub at the Greater Rockford Airport, a designated U.S. Customs Port of Entry, adds a third component to distribution in and out of the Rockford area.

Whitehead Inc. Realtors is a founding member of the I-39 Logistics Corridor Association which encompasses 10,000 square miles and spans 165 miles from Janesville, Wisconsin, on the north to Bloomington, Illinois, on the south, and 65 miles from Sycamore, Illinois, on the east to Sterling, Illinois, on the west. The I-39 Logistics Corridor is all about proximity, specifically proximity to everything of vital importance to logistics, manufacturing and other companies analyzing site criteria for the Chicago area, which handles more freight than any other city in the country.

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY
Rockford is encircled by I-90/I-39 on the east, Bypass US 20 on the south, State Route 2 on the west and State Route 173 on the north. Of the seven major interstate highways accessible within the I-39 corridor, six intersect truck-friendly I-39 including I-80, I-88, I-55, I-90, I-74 and I-43 -- all with less congestion. There are 37 local motor freight terminals and all major LTL carriers have terminals in the corridor.

RAIL
All major transcontinental rail systems converge in the Chicago area and seven of them provide access within the corridor: Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National (formerly Illinois Central), CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Wisconsin & Southern. We also have short lines, Rochelle Dual-Access Railroad and the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad, and the new Union Pacific Global III Intermodal Facility.

AIR
The Rockford Airport is home to UPS’s second largest air hub in the country. An average of 130,000 to 170,000 packages are handled nightly at this 2,000-employee, 520,000 square foot facility. The Greater Rockford Airport is a U.S. Customs port of entry and lies in Foreign Trade Zone #176. Developed land and public warehousing facilities are available for lease and scheduled passenger service is provided by TransMeridian Airlines. Rockford is also located within close proximity of Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports which are served by 40 daily passenger bus departures.

BARGE
Barge terminals along the Illinois River connect directly to the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, Atlantic Ocean, Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.