Transportation logistics businesses thriving in Aurora

The combination of Aurora’s central location and high local traffic counts have made transportation logistics a booming industry sector in recent years, prompting businesses to create jobs and make investments in Aurora-based facilities and operations.
Examples of growth related to the transportation logistics sector can be cited at the Interstate 80 intersection as well as along the Highway 14 and 34 corridors running through town. Kelsey Bergen, executive director of the Aurora Development Corporation, said a targeted industry study completed in 2022 confirmed that businesses and industries related to truck transportation were thriving in Aurora and Hamilton County.
“We completed that study with the help of the Nebraska Public Power District and they have some analysts that go through data to help us understand what industries are thriving in Hamilton County and which are key areas prime for growth,” she explained. “Truck transportation ranked really high for us.”
Citing a location quotient as one of the key factors used in that study, Bergen reported that Aurora rated high in several areas, with chemical manufacturing No. 1, food manufacturing No. 2 and transportation logistics No. 3.
“A location quotient of 1 or higher is an area that is key to future growth,” she said, noting that the quotient is based on recent US growth in that particular industry, projected growth and if compensation for those employees is higher than $45,000 annually. “Based on those criteria, truck transportation scored a 2.23 location quotient, which is well above the 1 that it needs to be considered a key industry. Part of that reason is because at that time, the regional jobs related to truck transportation totaled 1,598, and the average wage for those jobs was $52,324.”
Bergen said she was not surprised by the study’s findings, though it did shed some light on the potential for growth.
“I think Aurora has a very robust trucking industry,” she said. “We usually think of XPO Logistics, FedEx and Acord Transportation, but we also have a variety of truck and trailer sales and repair centers as well that have created great opportunities for ancillary businesses, such as fueling stations. So places like (Aurora Cooperative) A-Stops, Love’s, Casey’s, Pump & Pantry, as well as International Workforce Services and Griess’s Truck Wash are good examples of how this industry has continued to grow and build in our area, even though it’s kind of working in the background and maybe isn’t as noticeable to the people that live here.”
Information from the targeted industry study, Bergen shared, was one of several factors that was helpful in recruiting new tenants to the  135-acre Mission Critical Subdivision along the Highway 14 corridor.
“The target industry study is only as helpful as you make it, but we really turn to it whenever we have questions about a new industry coming in or how we’re able to serve an industry,” she said. “So it was helpful for us in recruiting Specialty Ag Formulations, as it definitely helped us sell to them that this would be an area where they would be able to find workers and where they would be able to have the additional services that they need.
“I think it’s important to note that when I was talking to Speciality Ag Formulations and they were trying to decide between building a plant in Seward or Aurora, one of the selling points for Aurora specifically was that we had Griess’s Truck Wash at the interstate because they really wanted to make sure they had clean trucks bringing their products in and delivering them. So, having the amount of truck services that we have in our area was a great selling point and one of the reasons they ultimately chose Aurora over Seward.”
Bergen noted exceptional growth along the Highway 34 corridor west of Aurora as well, where KAAPA Partners Aurora has invested heavily in the ethanol plant’s infrastructure.
“KAAPA is one of the main companies that has trucks as far as the number of trucks that visit them per day,” she said. “KAAPA is probably the top one in that regard, so there is a lot of activity happening west of town. That’s another area that would be a great place for growth as well.”
High traffic counts
Daily traffic counts are in fact one of the factors that help a transportation company decide where to locate, which is why Bergen pays a lot of attention to those numbers. Using data collected and posted by the Nebraska Department of Transportation, she reported that the traffic just west of Aurora’s 332 exchange on Interstate 80 averaged 25,472 vehicles per day, according to 2024 totals posted on the NPPD website. On Highway 34, the highest traffic count in Aurora is 9,325 vehicles per day near Memorial Hospital, with 650 of those reported as trucks. On Highway 14, the highest local traffic point is just south of the 34/14 intersection at 7,150 vehicles per day, and of that 600 were trucks.
Access to I-80 is in fact one of the reasons XPO Logistics chose to plant its flag in Aurora, building a location on the east side of Hwy 14 near the I-80 intersection approximately 15 years ago.
“Our traffic is across I-80 as it’s basically one of the big corridors where we move from east coast to west coast,” said James Wheeler, senior manager at the Aurora XPO location. “Stuff funnels through big service centers like Kansas City, then they move across I-80 through us and make the connections, whether they drop back down to Denver or whether they go to Cheyenne and keep going farther west. It’s a big corridor for that, which is a big reason we’re located in Aurora, where we are right off the highway and there is a truck stop nearby.”
XPO specializes in Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) orders, which Wheeler said is in high demand in the central United States.
“When someone’s got something to ship and they don’t need to pay for a full van or they don’t have a full 53-foot trailer worth of freight, they use the LTL network,” he explained. “You pay more per pallet, but you wouldn’t pay as much as you would pay for a whole van to move just a few shipments.”
Being located just off I-80 is ideal for XPO, Wheeler said, as well as its 48 local drivers.
“It’s a really good spot on I-80 for us,” he said. “None of our drivers go out anywhere where they can’t make it back (on the same day), so we do a lot of meets where a driver from Cheyenne or Denver will meet us halfway. That way our freight continually stays moving, rather than like an over-the-road truck driver that would have to take a break after 11 hours of driving. That’s why the LTL network kind of works, and being here just puts us in a good, unique spot.”