Northeast Pennsylvania's 'Inland Triangle' is the new Inland Empire

Apr. 30—WILKES-BARRE — John Augustine, president and CEO of Penn's Northeast, says whether it's logistics or production, those in the know are choosing Northeastern Pennsylvania's Inland Triangle to serve the East Coast's booming markets.

"Northeastern Pennsylvania's 'Inland Triangle' is the new Inland Empire," Augustine said.

That's correct, Augustine said, the 7-county triangle formed by the intersections of Interstates 80, 81, 84, 380, 476, and 78 is the heart of the East Coast's fastest growing distribution and manufacturing hub.

And, Augustine contends, it's easy to understand why.

"First, there's location — Northeastern Pennsylvania's Inland Triangle is within one day's drive of one-third of the U.S. population and half of Canada's's population," Augustine said. "The most important ports in the Northeastern U.S. (by the end of 2022, the Port of Elizabeth in New Jersey had more traffic than the Port of LA) sit just a short drive to the east."

Augustine's comparison is to the Inland Empire, a region in Southern California that is an urban and metropolitan area centered around the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino. The Inland Empire is located east of Los Angeles County.

Augustine says Northeastern Pennsylvania's Inland Triangle has the infrastructure, providing easy transportation by truck, rail, or air — it's buzzing with 3PL activity, and Fedex, UPS, and XPO all have added major hubs.

Augustine adds that in Northeastern Pennsylvania, natural gas doesn't come from hundreds of miles away. He said the Inland Triangle directly adjoins Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale reserve — and that means competitive, and stable natural gas prices and lower overall operating costs for manufacturers.

"The Inland Triangle has the ingredients for success — unbeatable and reliable utility costs, a competitive and a productive labor force of more than 530,000 people, with more than 19 higher-educational institutions that are producing real world results for Northeastern Pennsylvania's employers and residents," Augustine said.

And Northeastern Pennsylvania's Inland Triangle is a great place to live.

"Our nine counties' residential options range from bustling live/work downtowns to beautiful small towns," Augustine said. "Our mountains, lakes, and rivers offer four seasons of incredible outdoor recreation — in fact, our Pocono Mountains have been a vacation destination for generations of Americans, so it's no surprise that growing numbers of people want to live here year-round."

And on average, Augustine said the cost of living in Northeastern Pennsylvania is 5% lower than living in the rest of the country.

These are just some of the reasons why Augustine says top companies — from manufacturers like Ball Corporation or CANPACK, international firms including Wren Kitchens — have decided to make NEPA their U.S. headquarters and agricultural processors like Little Leaf Farms are in the know.

"All of these companies and more have chosen Northeastern Pennsylvania's Inland Triangle as a business location within the past three years," Augustine said. "In fact, Northeastern Pennsylvania was recently ranked in the Top 10 regions in the United States for economic development."

Augustine added, "It's clear that the word is out about the benefit of locating in Northeastern Pennsylvania's 'Inland Triangle.'"

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.