Abstract Logistics intensive clusters are agglomerations of several types of firms
and operations: (1) firms providing logistics services, such as 3PLs, transportation,
warehousing and forwarders, (2) the logistics operations of industrial firms, such as
the distribution operations of retailers, manufacturers (in many cases after-market
parts) and distributors and (3) the operations of companies for whom logistics is a
large part of their business. Such logistics clusters also include firms that service
logistics companies, such as truck maintenance operations, software providers,
specialized law firms, international financial services providers, etc. Logistics
clusters exhibit many of the same advantages that general industrial clusters (such
as Silicon Valley, Hollywood, or Wall Street) do: increase in productivity due to
shared resources and availability of suppliers; improved human networks,
including knowledge sharing; tacit communications and understanding; high trust
level among companies in the cluster; availability of specialized labor pool as well
as educational and training facilities; and knowledge creation centers, such as
universities, consulting firms, and think tanks. Logistics clusters, however, exhibit
other characteristics which make them unique in terms of cluster formation and
their contribution to economic growth. Logistics operations may locate in a
logistics cluster due to the cluster’s role in supporting economies of scope (mainly
for direct operations transport modes) and economies of density (mainly for
consolidated transportation modes); their provision of spill-over capacity for
warehousing and transportation; and the ability to cooperate between providers
when dealing with demand fluctuations. Such clusters provide a range of
employment opportunities—from moving boxes to executive, IT and other
professional jobs, and they diversify the economic base since they support many