Logistics Development Conference Kicks off at San Bernardino International Airport

The Logistics Development Conference 2021 was held Friday November 5^th in San Bernardino.  The event showcased the logistics and distribution industry that has become the key jobs producer for the Inland Empire and more notably at the San Bernardino International Airport which has labored for 30 years to replace the economic vacuum left by the closure of Norton Air Force Base in the 1990’s.

The Inland Empire has become a hub for the logistics industry in Southern California due to available land, its prime location near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and transportation access.

The growth in logistics has allowed San Bernardino to more than recover the 10,000 military related jobs that disappeared along with Norton AFB.  According to recent estimates from IVDA, the former base location now has produced 14,000 jobs in and around the base area related to base redevelopment and airport activities.

The Logistics Development Conference focused on four major issues affecting the region and efforts to reduce the impacts of goods movement on local communities while taking advantage of the economic growth and meeting the supply chain needs of the country.

Presentations on emission reductions and the incorporation of drone technologies were the focus of the morning sessions.  Kyle Vorhees of Titan Aviation Fuels provided background on the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel or SAF as it is referred to in the aviation industry.  SAF has the ability to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions of fuel by up to 80 percent through the use of recycled cooking oils or other waste oils that can be refined and mixed with existing aviation fuels sources, lowering the carbon footprint for aviation purposes.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman and Kim Bensen of the UAS Center at San Bernardino Airport provided a briefing on the Unmanned Aircraft Systems testing and training center at the Airport that is providing nonmilitary drone training and Federal Aviation Administration certifications for the growing job opportunities in the field.  SBD Airport is the only regional training center with commercial airport access in a metropolitan area.  This program was established last year through the cooperation of IVDA and the San Bernardino County Fire District.

The late morning presentations provided a case study on a model logistics development by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for their new facility under construction at SBD Airport, “The Landing by San Manuel.”  This new warehouse will be built with state-of-the-art technology and energy efficiency, recognizing not only the future of the San Manuel Tribe, but also the past.  San Manuel worked with the City of San Bernardino, the Airport, and the local community to incorporate major improvements to their business expansion into the burgeoning logistics industry, steps far beyond most industry efforts to build warehousing facilities.

The final presentation focused on the challenges in development for the logistics industry in Southern California which includes the environmental challenges of goods movement, permitting, rising land costs and supply chain interruptions that are a more recent occurrence.

The event closed with an upbeat luncheon presentation by Keynote Speaker Economist Jay Prag from the Drucker School of Management, who told the audience that San Bernardino and the region should be very proud of the recovery efforts made to date.  According to Prag, San Bernardino has successfully leveraged its transportation assets including our freeways, rail facilities and the San Bernardino International Airport in an effort to create jobs for residents and attract the businesses that were actually driven to locate near these assets, the Logistics Industry.