October 1, 2025 | The annual St. Louis Regional Freightway FreightWeekSTL report reflects a robust strength in manufacturing and logistics—a trend Contegra is also seeing in the local market, with Aerospace being particularly notable.

Contegra recently completed a 120,000-square-foot new manufacturing facility for Elite Tool, a lean contract manufacturer for the aerospace, commercial, and defense industries in Moscow Mills, MO.

Meanwhile, on this side of the river, Manner Polymers began ramping up production in its new 100,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility built by Contegra in Mount Vernon, IL. This solar powered plant increases Manner Polymers production capacity by 100 million pounds as it produces flexible PVC compounds used to make vehicles, including EVs, safer and more resilient.

For the local manufacturing and logistics sectors, the Freightway noted that “from 2020-2025, the GDP of both increased by 33%.” We are certainly feeling that strength. In addition to numerous “last mile” logistics centers, the past year has seen Contegra engaged in:

• Building the newest distribution center at Gateway Tradeport in Pontoon Beach, IL.
• Completing the first of three planned distribution centers at the $117 million River Valley Logistics Center in Maryland Heights, MO.
• Completing a new 611,000-square-foot facility for McLeod Express in Decatur, IL to better serve central Illinois.

According to the Freightway, our region ranks in the top third of metro areas with $209 billion in gross domestic product and the reasons promise much for future work: an “unmatched combination of workforce readiness, available industrial space and excellent multimodal infrastructure that continues to fuel the region’s position as a global leader in freight movement and industrial development.”

Article courtesy of Illinois Business Journal