By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT Demographics—the study of populations—have long been an important element in planning and execution in any number of business fields, including logistics. Transportation and distribution networks are developed within the framework of proximity to suppliers, customers, and markets. Population shifts, to the southeast and southwest of the United States, for example, would therefore presumably have an impact in the approach toward logistics planning and operations. Some shipping companies, most notably UPS and FedEx, have famously established national hubs, in these cases, in Louisville and Memphis respectively, in an effort to position themselves at the logistics center of the U.S. population. Other locales, such as Columbus, Ohio, even though not located in the areas of greatest growth, tout their ability to reach large segments of the nation’s population efficiently. But demographics as it effects logistics is not limited to studying the proximities to markets or customers. Other factors, such as the availability of talent also come into play, which may provide advantages to locations such as Atlanta. “Demography provides a powerful tool to explain business phenomena,” said Alexandra Tragaki, an assistant professor of economics at Harokopion University in Athens, Greece. “It provides the link between population process and future problems or eventual opportunities. Against a rapidly changing demographic landscape, firms would rather not fail to read the demographic tell.” “Locations for distribution centers in North America that may have sense 10 years ago may not make sense anymore because of population shifts,” added Guy Toksoy, senior manager of business development at APL Logistics. Significant U.S. population shifts in the southeast and southwest will have an impact on how transportation and logistics planners accommodate those fast-growing regions for decades to come, according to Bill Lindler, CEO of United Steel Storage, an office furniture wholesaler and distributor based in Atlanta. The population of most southeastern and southwestern states, including Texas, have grown rapidly since 1990, while the northeast, Midwest and Great Plains have lost population. “The whole middle of the U.S. is a dead zone,” said Lindler. “The population is not growing. You have to recognize this when you’re setting up your distribution network. The fast-growing regions require more household goods to meet the needs of residents and more raw materials and industrial goods to meet the needs of companies located there.” Atlanta has benefited as a business center from the shifting of population southward, according to Lindler. “A dozen automobile, agricultural equipment, and aircraft manufacturers have opened factories in the last 20 years within 150 miles” of the Georgia capital, he said. “Atlanta is now Detroit.” Columbus, Ohio, has long touted its accessibility to the American market as a key selling feature to attract new business into the area, despite significant population shifts toward the west and the south in recent decades. A study undertaken last year by Three Scale Research set out to test that claim by calculating the population within a one day’s drive or a one-hour plane flight—a 500 mile radius—for each of the 68 U.S. metropolitan areas of 750,000 or more. The results, which used 2010 census data, were close, but showed that Columbus, Ohio edged out Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the top spot based on the criteria set out in the study. “Ohio metropolitan areas provide a good market to access almost half of the American market,” said researcher Bobby St. Clair, “with four out of the top five metropolitan areas in Ohio,” including Dayton, at number three, Cleveland, at number four, and Cincinnati, at number five. According the study, Columbus is located within 500 miles of 147.5 million U.S. residents, or nearly 48 percent of the U.S. population. Pittsburgh, the number two ranked metropolitan area, has access to 145.7 million people or a little