b'4American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comData center market expansion(BOOMcontinued from page 2)racks, states McKinsey. Average power densities have more than doubled in just two years and are catches logistics industry by surprise expected to rise nearly four times by 2027. ampli-The iMasons report explainsfurther,AI fiesthedigitalinfrastructureindustryspower By Pete Goldin, AJOT challenge.Forexample,AItrainingdatacenters consume exponentially more power than traditional The growth in construction of new data centerscenter power demand is translating to an increasedata center workloads. And its not just the numberdriven in large part by AIs voracious demand forin the transformer size or number of transformerscrunchingthe type of graphics processing units compute capacityhas ramped up very quickly inrequired per site, further increasing the challenge(GPUs) needed for AI can cause a server to gener-the last year, overwhelming the logistics industry,of this growing project cargo niche. The sheer sizeate significantly more heat than a traditional server, butalsoofferinganadvantagetofirmsthatspe- and weight create complexities throughout transportwhich means more power is needed for cooling as cialize in project cargo and are equipped to handleand offload, requiring careful coordination and spe- well.By2035,Deloitteestimatespowerdemand multi-ton over-dimensional components such as tur- cialized handling, Bernick adds. from AI data centers in the U.S. could grow more bines and generators. In addition, Yunes says Logistics Plus expectsthan thirtyfold, reaching 123 gigawatts, up from 4 Ithinkitcaughteverybodybysurprisemore data centers to be built closer to metro andgigawatts in 2024. Similarly, Goldman Sachs esti-howquicklytheneedfordatasuburbanareas,whichmakesitmatesthatglobaldatacenterpowerdemandwill center project cargo has grown,evenmoredifficulttonavigateincrease 160% by 2030.observes Jason Bernick, VP, Cryptothe routeswith narrow streets,Experts expect that utilities will not be able to Logistics at Logistics Plus, a 3PLtightturnsandmoreadjacentkeep up with the increasing demand for data center handling project cargo for manystructuresfor over-dimensionalpower.BloomEnergyfindsthatutilityprovid-datacenterconstructionproj- items. ers report significantly longer timelines to deliver ects. It has exploded for us overThereisalsoanissuewithpower in key US markets, up to 2 years longer than thelastsixmonthsbecauseofobtaining the necessary equipmentwhat hyperscalers and colocation providers expect. ourcapabilities.LogisticsPlusto support project cargo, in the faceSo, data centers are adopting onsite power systems exemplifiesprovidersthathaveof the rapid demand. The growthtobypassoraugmentthetraditionalenergygrid. therightexpertiseattherighthas been exponential in 2025, andAccording to Bloom Energy, 38% of facilities are timetotakeadvantageofthisthishasputaconstraintontheexpected to use some onsite generation for primary promisingnewsegmentoftheequipment for project cargo, Ber- power, and 27% of data centers are expected to be project cargo market. Jason Bernick, VP, Crypto Logistics,nick says. fully powered by onsite generation by 2030, a 27x Weve traditionally done proj- Logistics Plus Thisisallnewdemandandincrease from just 1% last year.ect cargo to support power generation and factories.not a lot of people have planned for it, adds Yunes.CoreSite ,aleadingdatacentercolocationpro-Thats been a big part of our business for at leastSo, the companies that build the trailers and equip- vider, explains, By establishing their own behind-the-20 years, explains Danny Yunes, VP, Mission Criti- ment used for project cargo are trying to catch up.meter(BTM)powergenerationcapabilitiessuchas cal Ops and Strategy at Logistics Plus. The dataThey dont have enough equipment to satisfy themicrogrids fueled by gas turbines, fuel cells or modular center vertical is just an acceleration of that side ofdemand, so that strains capacity of the carriers andnuclear reactors, as well as renewable energy sources the business.increases pricing. includingsolarandwind,datacenteroperatorscan DatacenterprojectcargoincludesmassiveYunesconcludes,Weareseeingsomuchincrease their scalability, flexibility and reliability even transformers, generators, gas turbines, and coolingdemand, I dont think this is going to end anyas the demand for ever more power grows.towers. Yunes points out that the increase in datatime soon. (BOOMcontinued on page 6)Port Houston City DocksDelivering what your customersneed.Whether its steel coil, project cargo, grain, or lumber, you can count on Port Houston to deliver what you need at our multi-purpose facilities. Flexibility and connectivity set us apart, and a skilled and dedicated labor force give you reliability. Get your cargo to your customers faster by choosing Port Houston.www.porthouston.com'