St. Louis: Midwest China Hub Commission opens Beijing office

[warwickland]

"The St. Louis County Economic Council released the following information to the news media recently, indicating further movement in the positive direction towards establishing St. Louis, Missouri, as a Midwest China Hub for air cargo and trade"

http://donnajgamache.wordpress.com/2009 ... n-beijing/

This is an opportunity for St. Louis City/County to economically renew itself in a way that it hasn't for 40 years.

[ntbpo]

Indeed a huge project for STL. If they were to land this project it would be a HUGE boost to the local economy. With STL City owning and operating the aiport with a new 1 Billion dollar runway, and STL County designating over 100 adjacent acres of land by the airport strictly for Chinese cargo I can see it being very attractive to the Chinese. A Non stop string of Chinese cargo planes coming into STL will be a cash cow for sure.

[warwickland]

Now, if St. Louis could only take back its status as the number 2 rail hub...


j/k

[StL_Dan]

Do the Chinese already have a "West" and/or "East" cargo hubs in the U.S.?

I am left wondering about the potential statistics involved with a Midwest Hub.....tons of annual cargo passing through the hub, forecasted dollars flowing into local StL economy, number of jobs generated locally, etc.

[warwickland]

Do the Chinese already have a "West" and/or "East" cargo hubs in the U.S.?

I am left wondering about the potential statistics involved with a Midwest Hub.....tons of annual cargo passing through the hub, forecasted dollars flowing into local StL economy, number of jobs generated locally, etc.

Good question...obviously the assumption is that a lot of stuff will pass into and though StL to Indy, Memphis, Louisville, Cincy, KC, and most importantly, Chicago, so St. Louis is potentially in a good position.

[warwickland]

It's not looking bad right now for what folks in St. Louis are calling the "Big Idea." I don't really know how big or small this idea is going to be in practice. But props to Dooley and Slay for whooping up the crowd in the name of regional cooperation. Theres a lot in the air right now that could all point to a minor inflection point for the region, which is sorely needed.

Breakfast w/ Mayor, County Exec
Kelsy Volkmann

I went to the St. Louis Business Journal’s State of St. Louis breakfast this morning, along with 600 other attendees, to hear our local leaders look back on 2010 and ahead to 2011.

The first audience applause in the Khorassan Ballroom at the Chase came when St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay reiterated his desire for the city to re-enter St. Louis County as its largest municipality.

Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern all talked about wanting to work together — and not competitively — to make St. Louis a hub with China.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... ounty.html

[KCMax]

Air cargo expert says St. Louis wants a $360 million 'ransom'

Webber’s main point is this: There’s no way that St. Louis is going to attract enough air cargo to justify the incentives. There’s already too much capacity in the system. The notion of building 27 million square feet of warehouse space around Lambert is, in Webber’s mind, “just insane.”

Webber was appalled when the Missouri House and Senate passed versions of an Aerotropolis bill earlier this year. “The legislators just passed it because it sounded like a hell of an idea,” Webber tells The Pitch.

[FangKC]

This is a big waste of money, and every Missourian should be against it.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/fat ... 75467.html

[xorg]

edit: double post.. test, can't delete this.

this forum software doesn't allow deleting posts?

[xorg]

This is a big waste of money, and every Missourian should be against it.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/fat ... 75467.html

Would like to see STL grow on its established strong areas than to try an tackle a new idea this ambitious and has no specific momentum to fruition. If they had contracts lined up to justify the investment then sure, but this is really just a pipe dream.

Never mind that there are already more than 18 million square feet of unused warehouse space around the airport. And never mind that it was only a dozen years ago that the city of Saint Louis splurged in building a third runway — at a cost of more than a billion dollars — that is virtually unused today. That was another eco-devo project that failed to deliver promised jobs and economic activity. It also led to the condemnation and destruction of more than 2,000 homes under eminent domain.

[mean]

edit: double post.. test, can't delete this.

this forum software doesn't allow deleting posts?

You can't delete posts after they've been replied to.

http://forum.kcrag.com/faq.php#f2r1

However, you can edit them as many times as you like, and I removed the time limit.

[Louman]

China Eastern to launch Lambert flights Sept. 23
BY TIM LOGAN | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Posted: Sunday, September 4, 2011 2:30 am |



After years of trying and more than 40 trade delegations, St. Louis is set to land its first Chinese cargo flight later this month, Mayor Francis Slay told the Post-Dispatch.

A China Eastern Boeing 777 from Shanghai is tentatively scheduled to touch down at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on the afternoon of Sept. 23, the mayor said. It's the most concrete sign yet of progress in the region's nearly four-year bid to turn its underused airport into a international freight hub.

"That first flight will be historic," Slay said. "It's the start of what we hope will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

The news could not be independently confirmed with China Eastern, but the airline has been negotiating with Lambert since January and in July sent a technical team to meet with freight companies in St. Louis. The airport and airline are hoping to sign a two-year lease on a cargo hangar as soon as this week, Lambert director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said.

For now, one flight will land here each week, though Slay said that China Eastern hoped to grow that to three weekly flights during the busy pre-holiday shipping season. Growth from there largely depends on Lambert's ability to attract freight forwarders — the firms that route cargo from factory to final destination — and on building a bigger network of flights and suppliers over time.

**Read More**

[Louman]

Would like to see STL grow on its established strong areas than to try an tackle a new idea this ambitious and has no specific momentum to fruition. If they had contracts lined up to justify the investment then sure, but this is really just a pipe dream.

The railroad into St. Louis was considered a pipe dream by some as well. Now it is one of the largest rail centers in the country. St. Louis is actually on top of its game by trying to get business Chinese air cargo business. Why should Chicago, Dallas and a few others have all of the Chinese air cargo market? It doesn't make sense. While I understand some of the fuss against this - especially in light of the still recovering economy - a lot of the detractors in Kansas City are just being haters as usual, I think.

If K.C. had proposed Chinese air cargo for its airport and sought TAX CREDITS to incentivize development of it, they'd want it passed too. Instead, Kansas City has chosen FREIGHT trade with China. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Further, the St. Louis area is the biggest economic engine in the State of Missouri, so if it falters or stagnates, so does Kansas City (on the Missouri side) and the rest of Missouri.

There are $360-million in TAX CREDITS proposed. The TAX CREDITS WOULD NOT be dispensed UNLESS real estate (ie. warehouses, sorting facilities etc.) were built to support the Lambert Aerotropolis. The tax credits are essentially piecemeal incentivizing the development of support real estate for the Lambert Aerotropolis. It doesn't come out of Missouri's budget in one lump sum nor does any of it go directly to China. Although China benefits from the development, so do Americans through job creation.

"Several Aerotropolis opponents claim the legislation gives taxpayer money to the Chinese airlines. It does not. It offers tax credits to freight forwarders, which are companies that arrange for the shipping of American and international exports. And it offers tax credits to investors and companies who build facilities that house the specific targets of the incentives — the operations and economic activities aligned with air commerce or with the development of a dynamic international cargo consolidation point or gateway."

KC Star: Missouri legislature should make St. Louis Aerotropolis a reality

[KCMax]

Missouri Senate advances bill on St. Louis Aerotropolis

The Senate gave first-round approval Tuesday night to a significantly scaled-back economic development bill that continues to face an uncertain future.

The latest version of the bill stripped $300 million of the $360 million in tax credits contained in the “Aerotropolis” proposal, which is intended to make Lambert-St. Louis International Airport a major international cargo hub.

[Louman]

^It's sad because if St. Louis loses - Missouri loses. Then if St. Louis City, County and other stakeholders are forced go it alone, Missouri as a whole would benefit, which would be unfair. The entities would then have to demand more support from Missouri or put all of their efforts 25-miles east at Mid-America. Illinois would jump on this in a heartbeat. Hopefully, the idiots in Jeff City will restore some that $300-million chopped for the proposed initiative before it's all over. $60-million wouldn't be too bad to start, but if they could up the ante to $100-million, that would show more of a commitment than $60-million. With corporations leaving Missouri left and right (AMC being the latest), Missouri needs to do better to attract and maintain commerce.

[KCPowercat]

AMC needed China flights?

[aknowledgeableperson]

It does have screens in Hong Kong.

[Louman]

First cargo flight from China lands at St. Louis' Lambert
Date: Friday, September 23, 2011, 1:06pm CDT - Last Modified: Friday, September 23, 2011, 4:04pm CDT



ST. LOUIS - The first international cargo flight from China landed at Lambert International Airport today.

The China cargo Boeing 777 landed at 3:50 p.m. Local leaders said they hoped it would be the first of many cargo flights from China at the airport.

Helping attract a cargo hub at Lambert is one of the issues being considered in Jefferson City, where the Missouri Legislature is meeting in special session.

The original plan, dubbed Aerotropolis, would earmark $300 million in tax credits for new warehouses and factories near Lambert. But that plan has been stripped down and changed, and lawmakers have not reached agreement on anything to help build the China cargo hub.

(Source)

____________________________


Lambert welcomes first Chinese cargo flight as Aerotropolis sputters
St. Louis Business Journal
Date: Friday, September 23, 2011, 1:06pm CDT - Last Modified: Friday, September 23, 2011, 4:04pm CDT



Lambert-St. Louis International Airport welcomed its first Chinese cargo flight Friday, even as a bill to deliver hundreds of millions in state tax credits to Lambert for a China trade hub was close to unraveling in Jefferson City.

Gov. Jay Nixon had planned to attend a ceremony at the airport Friday afternoon marking the inaugural landing of the China Eastern flight but he stayed in Jefferson City instead to focus on the special legislative session. Nixon scheduled a news conference this afternoon on the special session. The Missouri House has adjourned until Thursday.

“We are hopeful and waiting to see what happens” with Aerotropolis, said Kathryn Jamboretz, vice president of marketing and communications for the St. Louis County Economic Council.

Still, she said, the first Chinese cargo flight at Lambert is a “tremendous day for the region.”

The 4 p.m. landing of the Boeing 777F marked the beginning of weekly cargo service between St. Louis and Shanghai. Some of the Midwestern-made products returning to China include advanced manufactured goods, high-end electronics, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products.

(Source)

[Louman]

AMC needed China flights?

Apparently, Missouri isn't attractive enough for AMC at this time. Point was.....Missouri has to do better to attract and maintain corporations and commerce - including domestic companies. Don't feel too bad, St. Louis has had enough corporations to leave its metro altogether over the years.

[KCPowercat]

There is only one reason amc jumped to ks....47M bucks. A China cargo flight in st. Louis does nothing in that situation.