Find the Best Pennsylvania 3PL Warehouse Fulfillment Centers

Pennsylvania is a Northeast state with several benefits for companies needing a fulfillment location. It is centrally located for serving the Northeast and the East Coast. Plus, it is near many major U.S. cities, such as Cleveland, New York, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Detroit.

Why Pennsylvania is a Good Place for Your 3PL Warehouse

Pennsylvania makes sense as a transportation hub because of the many railway systems. Major cities are spread across the state, providing easy access to not only the East Coast, with New Jersey and New York close by, but also the west, with Ohio and West Virginia as its bordering states. I-80 runs east to west across the state while several highways run through the north and south, making it easy to run throughout Pennsylvania and into border states.

More than Just an Alternative for East Coast Shipping

When it comes to shipping, many people don’t consider this state. Pennsylvania actually has six ports. One of these is a harbor on the banks of Lake Erie, which makes it a great location for companies who want to do business with Canada. This port is located, specifically, near the Ontario and Quebec boarders. Canadian companies in Ontario and Quebec may also find Pennsylvania an ideal spot for their U.S. fulfillment center. Furthermore, central and western Pennsylvania offers some great areas for fulfillment location – such as Harrisburg in the center of the state and Pittsburgh in the west.

Major Industries and Transportation Hubs in Pennsylvania

To this day, Pennsylvania is known especially for its east-west rail line, running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, providing a gateway to the Northeast and to the Midwest, with other hubs traveling up to Canada and upstate New York, and down to Washington D.C. and Maryland. In addition to the rail lines, interstates 70, 76 and 80 make their way across the state. Basically, if you are traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast, chances are good you are going to be traveling through Pennsylvania anyway, making it an ideal stopping point. On the east, Pennsylvania is also conveniently close to the major north-south lines which straddle the East Coast, while avoiding much of the congestion associated with those lines.

Pennsylvania Has a Strong Economy with Support for Warehousing and Logistics

Pennsylvania has a wide array of attractions, ranging from its four distinct seasons throughout the year to its mountains, rivers, and booming cities filled with family-friendly activities. It’s one of the 13 original colonies and is where the Declaration of Independence was signed many years ago. There’s farmland, national forests, and many outdoor locales to visit.

The state has a great economy in place with the top industries being industrial machinery, fabricated metal products, food and kindred products, chemicals, and printing/publishing. Large companies from around the world call PA home, including none other than chocolate giant, Hershey’s, which has its own city.

Industries in Pennsylvania range from the famed work of local artisans, especially the Amish, whose handicrafts and woodwork are prized worldwide, to its many farms and mines, for coal and steel and other natural resources, as well as lumber and cattle. This broad range of natural resources and industries continues to provide a backdrop where commercial warehousing and transport is a key concern. This means that if you are looking for a 3PL warehouse and you do decide to utilize Pennsylvania, you will be in friendly territory, in a place where such practices have a time-honored tradition.

Pennsylvania’s history is rich, being around since the formation of our country. Many of the industries have remained the same, with Benjamin Franklin being a large part of the printing industry and steel mills that have been running for hundreds of years. From Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and everywhere in between, there are cities perfect for warehousing services companies in Pennsylvania.

What to Look For in the Best Fulfillment Companies in Pennsylvania

But location alone isn’t the only consideration when outsourcing 3PL, warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping in Pennsylvania. At WarehousingAndFulfillment.com, we specialize in painlessly matching you with the best fulfillment centers in Pennsylvania for your company’s specific needs. In addition to location, we match businesses based upon:

• Years in Business
• Number of Customers
• Annual Order Volume
• Customer Retention Rates
• Order Accuracy Rates
• Inventory Accuracy Rates
• Shipping Accuracy Rates

And performance metrics aren’t the only consideration we take into mind. We also match you with companies that are best suited for the products you sell, the channels you sell through, the technologies you use, and any other requirements necessary. Get in touch with your ideal matches today – fill out a request for quotes or call us for FREE matches and quotes!

Top Cities for 3PL Providers in Pennsylvania

3PL Warehouse Companies in Philadelphia

The greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area offers a great alternative to locating your fulfillment services in the New York City area. Oftentimes, the cost of not only warehouse storage space, but also labor is significantly lower in Pennsylvania than in New York. Furthermore, there are many cities in the eastern part of Pennsylvania that have great, high quality fulfillment firms – such as Allentown, Reading, and Wilkes-Barre.

If you consider Philadelphia’s location comparable to New York City, New Jersey and Washington D.C., you can quickly see that it provides a central focal point. Rail lines provide easy and frequent access to the port of New York. Also, it must be mentioned that Philadelphia – and any place not New York City or Washington D.C. – has far lower costs in terms of space, because these are two of the most expensive areas in the country. The Philadelphia metropolitan area encompasses a broad geographic area and includes a broad diversity of industrial and warehouse centers, depending upon your needs.

From a historical perspective, Philadelphia is a long-standing city with a rich history. Temporary capital of the United States and key focal point of the American Revolution, Philadelphia was honored in 2015 as the first World Heritage site in the United States. When one thinks of Philadelphia, many images may come to mind, from the Liberty Bell to Independence Hall to Penn’s Landing. As a business looking for prime warehouse locations, here is another image to add: its central location on a map of the northeastern United States.

Philadelphia is truly a star city of Pennsylvania, being to the east and close enough to New York City and many of the other eastern cities. It is also home to the Eagles, an NFL team that many people root for throughout the football season. Many Fortune 500 companies are based here and it is also the seventh largest metropolitan city in the United States. Higher education, manufacturing, food processing, and telecommunications are amongst the top industries.

3PL Warehouse Companies in Pittsburgh

The second-largest city in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is known as the Steel City for its long-standing relationship with the steel industry, which continues into the modern age. Due to its prime shipping location, between the Northeast (especially Philadelphia and New York) and the Midwest (Ohio and beyond), as well as Canada to the north, Pittsburgh has retained its reputation as an industrial mecca.

With a population of over 2 million people, Pittsburgh is located at the junction of three rivers, giving you potential waterway deliveries when necessary. Because there aren’t many options in this city, you might try neighboring OH as well to open up additional options (fulfillment companies in Cleveland, Akron or even Columbus could be viable alternatives).

Although it may lack some of historical cachet of Philadelphia to the east, Pittsburgh has a more industrial-oriented reputation, making it another ideal location for warehousing, especially if you want to keep close to the Northeast while positioning yourself for business to the rest of the North American continent.

Pittsburgh is where a large amount of the industrial machinery and equipment companies can be found. The Department of Labor and Industry in the state estimates 42,000 manufacturers throughout the state, and the number is increasing because of the demand for components and parts thanks to the energy and natural gas boom.

Harrisburg Pennsylvania Fulfillment Centers and Pick and Pack Warehouses

Along the Susquehanna River is Harrisburg, giving you another great byway to potentially ship items by river. Giving you a more central spot in Pennsylvania to reach some of the inner cities, it’s one to consider if you can’t find anything in other larger Pennsylvania cities.

Harrisburg is of course the capital of the state and is home to around 49,000 people. Hershey is just to the east, dubbed as the “Sweetest Place on Earth.” The Hershey Chocolate Factory is found here and helps to bring in a significant amount of revenue, employing thousands of people and bringing in millions to the Hershey Park.

Scranton 3PL Services Companies

Scranton is best known for being a railroad hub, which dates to 1849. Much of its history has to do with the steam engine and railway expansion, though it has since become a place for exploring nature. Various caverns are here, along with bird and wildlife watching. More small businesses choose to be here as opposed to the larger metropolitan cities. There’s a US Army Department just to the south as well, bringing in a lot of military personnel.

Allentown 3rd Party Warehousing

Allentown boasts a population of around 118,000 people. It’s about 90 minutes from Philadelphia and has one of the better costs of living in the state. Financial programs are in place for businesses who wish to get started or expand, which makes it home to many entrepreneurs. The city also has 17 square miles of real estate for commercial, industrial, and manufacturing use, providing plenty of growth opportunities for businesses.

Key Fulfillment Data in Pennsylvania

Choosing the best 3PL warehouse in Pennsylvania is a complex decision. Below is summary information about Pennsylvania population, number of warehouses, and taxes so that you can make a more informed decision about whether the state offers your company the best fulfillment services potential.

To get an idea of the types of companies that operate in Pennsylvania, check out the top 10 largest companies in the state.

Average Fulfillment and Warehousing Pricing in Pennsylvania

The below table gives a high-level idea of what average rates might look like in Pennsylvania for fulfillment services, based upon surveys of outsourced warehousing companies throughout the US.

3PL Warehouse Companies in Pennsylvania: Shipping in the Keystone State

If you are looking to store and ship goods in the continental United States, 3PL Warehouse Companies in Pennsylvania provide a key gateway point of access. Pennsylvania serves as the central nexus for the Northeastern United States, a gateway to the Midwest and to the South. Pennsylvania’s roots go deep in terms of tolerance and openness to diversity, as well as respect for a solid work ethic and reliable business dealings. Visitors to Pennsylvania come for reasons as varied as backpacking in the Poconos and high-tech business summits in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania is a thriving state with a wide array of warehousing services. If you are looking for 3PL Warehouse solutions in the Northeast and beyond, contact us today and let us help you find the best 3PL solutions for your company.