What makes Des Moines Industrial different from other transloaders?
- The Des Moines Industrial logistics park in Des Moines, IA is connected to the BNSF, Iowa Interstate, Norfolk Southern, & Union Pacific railroads. Specific to the BNSF, we are a part of their Premier Transload designated terminals. Our multi-carrier railroad optionality opens up markets like never before, both on the supply side and destination side for Central Iowa businesses. The Central Iowa market has largely underutilized railroads for logistics, especially for the businesses that rely on the 3PL industry. The logistics park is also 1 mile from Interstates 35 & 80, the busiest commercial intersection in the United States.
What are you seeing in the market? When do you see markets coming back?
- Railroad logistics solutions are clearly old hat in our larger, neighboring metros like Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. Many Central Iowa businesses are not used to a rail-based logistical option, primarily because a 3rd party rail option really hasn’t existed in Des Moines/Central Iowa. Never with multi-carrier railroad optionality. For Iowa companies who are using rail, a lot of that is managed through 3PL partners. Iowa businesses and the 3PL industry are just starting to appreciate the Des Moines Industrial capabilities.
Are there any new projects or developments that Des Moines Industrial is working on now?
- In February 2022, we wrapped up a 40-acre development, building a 115,000 SF class A warehouse, 15,500 LF of railroad track, and 10 acres of outdoor laydown space. We also installed an IDOT certified truck scale, enabling title transfer and/or Interstate ready loads. We have the ability to expand our warehouse by 80,000 SF, as well as the available footprint to build incremental warehouses or other fixed transloading infrastructure. We are in dynamic conversations on both avenues.
What is Des Moines Industrial currently doing in transloading?
- We are actively working with about every category of rail freight: dry bulk, building materials, heavy equipment, agriculture, consumer, containers, recyclables, etc.
Is there something you would like to share with our members that people may not know about your company?
- We built the Des Moines Industrial logistics park on spec, largely with the financial support of a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant. The FRA’s support was fundamental, as we had to develop our logistics park to be agnostic to an industry or commodity class. We needed to take a “jack of all trades” approach to support various car types and commodities, and we’re thrilled we did.
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