The Logistical Gateway to Country
Located at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Greater New Orleans region was founded as the nation’s logistical hub and continues to offer unparalleled infrastructure for international trade. Its location alone—which offers availability of land with deepwater access—is cause for trade, logistics, and distribution companies to take a closer look at the region. Combined with the region’s extensive transportation systems, skilled workforce, and aggressive incentives, the Greater New Orleans region is THE place to enter the U.S. market and build your business.
Facts & Figures
Largest tonnage port in Western Hemisphere
The port of South Louisiana stretches over 50 miles along the Mississippi River and majority of freight is petrochemicals, grains and crude oil.
Access to six Class I rail lines
New Orleans is the only deep-water port served by six Class I railroads, comprising over 132,000 miles network of track.
Home to over 50 Foreign Trade Zones
- Within GNO’s FTZ’s, merchandise may be stored, tested, manufactured, and processed without incurring duties.
Logistical Advantages for Greater New Orleans
With access to over 30+ major inland hubs, the region is the Gateway to North America
The Mississippi River is of paramount importance for global trade. More than 11,000 vessels traverse the Lower Mississippi River each year via 14,500 miles of inland waterways and transport roughly 500 million tons of cargo annually. The region also boasts a complex transportation infrastructure that provides easy access to the rest of the world via air, land, and sea. This extensive transportation system includes the largest port system by tonnage in the Western hemisphere and the only port in the country with access to all six Class I railroads via the New Orleans Public Belt. We also operate the fastest growing container on barge service in the country.
Regional Incentives
An economic powerhouse, Energy businesses can explore incentives available in Louisiana
Industrial Tax Exemption: Offers manufacturers up to 80% property tax abatement for an initial term of up to five years and the option to renew for an additional five years on a manufacturer’s qualifying capital investment related to the manufacturing process.
Louisiana Quality Jobs Program: Provides a cash rebate to companies that create well-paid jobs and promote economic development, including up to a 6% rebate of annual gross payroll for new direct jobs for up to 10 years and a state sales/use rebate on capital expenditures.
LED FastStart: Recognized as the nation’s best state workforce training program, LED FastStart provides customized employee recruitment, screening, and training to new and expanding companies at no cost.
Comprehensive Certified Sites Program
Louisiana and the GNO region have developed a thorough and detailed site certification program to help companies quickly identify opportunities
When it comes time to find the best location for your operation, Louisiana has an extensive selection of development-ready sites searchable in its Sites and Buildings Database. Specifically, the GNO region currently has 16 certified sites across the ten-parish region.
The LED Certified Sites program qualifies industrial sites based on zoning restrictions, title work, environmental studies, soil analysis and surveys. These sites are 180-day development ready and have substantial due diligence studies performed to receive certification.
To assist companies needing to make complex site identification decisions, LED has secured or has access to GIS maps for every region of the state — enabling project managers to locate suitable sites quickly.
A Reimagined River Site for the Future
Former shipbuilding site on the banks of the Mississippi transforming into value-added manufacturing hub
T. Parker Host, in partnership with Hilco Redevelopment, is reimagining the former Avondale Shipyard and the future of Jefferson Parish. With a footprint of 254 acres and significant warehousing, shipping, and storage capabilities, Avondale Marine will shape the future of commerce along the Mississippi River and beyond becoming a twenty-first century global logistics hub.
Notable Employers
Georgia-Based Cold Storage Company to Build $45.9 Million Facility in St. Tammany Parish, Create 100 New Jobs
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