Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us. It will bring countless New Jerseyans together in living rooms, basements and bars. There will be repeated checking of box pools, Boomers asking, “what’s a Bad Bunny,” and tons of food and drink. This unofficial holiday would not be possible, however, without the logistics industry. We make your chicken wings and cold beer possible.
Over 210 million Americans plan to watch the big game. More than 120 million plan on throwing or attending a Super Bowl party, with millions more watching at a bar or restaurant. All told, the game is expected to generate over $20 billion in total spending for Super Bowl-related food, drinks, apparel, decorations and other purchases for the day. That is a staggering amount of money being injected into our economy.
That food, the paper plates and those Seahawks and Patriots jerseys are all possible because the logistics industry steps up. It does not just happen overnight. Much like the game itself, it takes months and months of planning and coordination to ensure that the things you need for Super Bowl Sunday arrive on time.
The Big Game makes obvious how important a strong supply chain is. By air, rail, ship or truck, products must not only be transferred but then stored safely and efficiently. Think about the coordination that must go into ensuring an estimated 1.47 billion chicken wings are kept frozen so they can be devoured during the game. And that’s just one product.
On the ground, workers must then sort through what needs to be delivered, where it must go and by when. Delivery drivers must then travel countless miles, much of it through less-than-ideal weather, to get these items on store shelves or to your doorstep.
This all happens mere weeks after the end of the holiday season. U.S. consumers spent a record-breaking $11.8 billion in online sales this past Black Friday and another $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday. From Nov. 1-Dec. 31 of last year, consumers spent $257.8 billion online, a new record for e-commerce.
Despite this massive pressure on the supply chain, parcel carriers maintained an “impressive on-time delivery rate of 98%” during the holiday season. The logistics industry jumped right from this enormous demand into focusing on the delivery of $20 billion worth of goods and services for Super Bowl Sunday.
While no local teams are playing in this year’s game, New Jersey is, was and will remain the epicenter of this entire supply chain. Over one million New Jerseyans have a made a career out of driving the logistics industry.
A report released last November by The Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation at Rutgers University, highlights what that work means to the state’s economy and prosperity. It shows that warehouses and distribution centers in New Jersey annually support over $112.8 billion in personal income; more than $295.8 billion in business activity; and more than $33.8 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues, with local and state tax revenues of nearly $11.3 billion and federal tax revenues of almost $22.6 billion.
Here’s hoping you can spend this Sunday with family and friends. That your bets all pay out, that the food and drinks are all delicious and that you find time to laugh and be entertained.
And, if you have a minute, be sure to thank a logistics worker for making it all possible.
David Greek is chair of Circulate NJ, a coalition that seeks to inform and educate the public on the numerous benefits of the logistics industry, and Managing Partner of Greek Real Estate Partners
