Posted on 12/22/2011 7:09:27 AM PST by Portcall24
Online giant Amazon.com Inc. is planning to open two distribution centers in the Richmond area next fall that would employ a total of 1,350 people, state and local officials said Wednesday.
The $135 million investment in Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties is Virginia's largest single economic development deal since 2004 in terms of jobs created. The official announcement by Amazon and Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected this morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.timesdispatch.com ...
That will be more jobs than 0bamao has created, right?
Go Amazon!
Good news. Richmond needs the jobs. Should boost imports in Norfolk as well.
Obama will claim them as a result of his policies.
Obama will claim them as a result of his policies.
Obama will claim them as a result of his policies.
And I think they are building a big one in Middletown Delaware.
Does this mean Virginia Amazon shoppers will now have to pay sales tax on their purchases since Amazon has an in-state presence?
Good question...I don’t know. In the past Virginia has been a big advocate of no sales tax for online purchases. Not sure if that’s still the case.
Better be union jobs or O will find a way to kill the project.
Thats good to see. I did all my christmas shopping on Amazon this year. Bought, wrapped, shipped and all I had to do was spend half an hour on the computer.
Proudly, Virginia is a Right To Work State. Of course that doesn’t mean EPA won’t find something wrong with it. The location is only a couple of miles from the James River. Perhaps EPA will create a regulation that buildings with non-union jobs can’t be built closer than 5 miles from major rivers in U.S.?
Proximity to the port of Norfolk may have been the deciding factor.
Proximity to Norfolk is the likely answer. Most of DC bound cargo actually goes through Baltimore. Due to the efficient rail system, much of the Norfolk cargo goes to Chicago, Ohio, and even points West. I am surprised they picked Richmond over Isle of Wight and Suffolk, but I’d be willing to bet these centers will be on the new US 460 limited access toll road they are building from Suffolk to Petersburg, which is designed to take the port traffic off of I64 and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.
BTW I worked 3 years in Norfolk as an export service manager and import traffic for a major steamship line so I know what I am talking about regarding where the cargo is going. Not just spewing drivel.
I've always felt Norfolk was a viable alternative to more congested ports further north. Getting the traffic off I-64 would help a great deal.
After the west coast longshoreman's strike back in 2002, I instructed our exporters to stop using the Los Angeles area ports and we switched mostly to the Seattle area. But when we use the east coast ports of entry, they are somehow still obsessed with using New York almost exclusively. Since we are talking about a day or two rather than a week or more extra on the east coast ports, I'm having a harder time making headway with getting Norfolk considered.
I'd like to know which steamship line you worked for. Freepmail me if you don't want to post.
Cabela's opened a store in Manchester, Missouri and online purchases by Missourians had the tax added to their orders.
Their prices, plus shipping, plus sales tax meant they were no longer in the ball park vs prices in local stores.
I think the amount of the tax was about 6%. It has been so long since I made a purchase from them I am not sure about the exact percentage.
I’d be curious whether this is an expansion move on Amazon’s part, or a replacement of other distribution centers in more troubled states, such as California and Michigan.
I also get all my books, and some other things too, through Amazon. They are not conservative, but then they are not liberal, either, unlike Barnes & Noble. And they usually offer the best prices.
I worked for Evergreen, great company. Unfortunately, I was a victim of the centralization trend, but they treated us well. Perhaps you will be able to make headway once the Panama Canal expansion is complete and Norfolk is the only East Coast port that can handle the larger vessels. Rates should be much lower and labor relations are very good as well. If I recall, Norfolk Southern does route to the Midwest via Pittsburgh in about 3 days transit time, but Evergreen was routing Pittsburgh cargo through NYC while I was there as well. Not sure what the status is of the Heartland Corridor, but that was apparently going to cut the transit time to Chicago to 2 days. Not sure if it would have cut the Pittsburgh time.
I got layed off in 2009. I miss the business, but unfortunately, other lines and the industry in general didn’t pay enough to stay in it.
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