Virginia Economic Review

One is a tiny company with its eyes on the heavens: Micro Harmonics pioneered high-tech designs and components with help from NASA.

Mike Coleman is president and CEO of CV International, a Norfolk-based global logistics, freight forwarding, and trade compliance services provider, and Capes Shipping Agencies, a wholly owned subsidiary that provides ship agency, cargo forwarding, and logistics management services to clients.

Lance Harcrow is chief operating officer at Estes Forwarding Worldwide (EFW), a subsidiary of Estes Express Lines and a leading domestic and international freight forwarder headquartered in Chesterfield County.

Dr. Myra Blanco is chief growth officer at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and CEO of the university’s Dock to Door Coalition, a partnership of nearly 100 organizations across industry, education, and government that works to develop an integrated approach to modern freight transportation by solving critical supply chain issues.

Ashleigh de la Torre is vice president of public policy at Amazon, where she leads the company’s transportation and sustainability initiatives, supporting its operations, logistics, and delivery businesses across land, air, and sea.

Upgrading Interstate Capacity Along Key Arteries The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is in the midst of a $3.9 billion upgrade to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Supply chain management (SCM) and logistics have changed dramatically in the last decade. There’s growing demand for deeper visibility into every step of the supply chain. Automation is playing an ever-larger role in the movement of goods.

Supplier and customer accessibility has always played a key role in industrial site selection decisions. But the supply chain shakeups over the last five years have pushed manufacturers to rethink the types of sites that might allow them to best serve their key stakeholders.

Ask a major importer or exporter what constitutes an optimal air cargo partner for their supply chain, and you’ll hear the usual desired qualities: location, transit time, Foreign Trade Zone incentives, carbon footprint, and even weather.

Real estate developers have dealt with a daunting set of complications in the last few years, from increased borrowing costs to inflation to labor issues. It’s no surprise that developers and site selectors have focused on predictability as they consider supply chain factors in site decisions.

Early in the morning of March 27, a container ship about as tall as the Eiffel Tower left the Port of Baltimore going approximately 9 mph. The ship, named the Dali, was fully loaded with cargo and weighed nearly 100,000 tons.

This issue of Virginia Economic Review details the things that represent Virginia and its influence on America’s governance, economy, culture, and norms. Highlights include an A to Z listing of those items and illustrative compendiums of famous Virginians and companies located in the Commonwealth.

Jonathan Zur is president and CEO of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC), a nonprofit organization based in the Richmond area that works with schools, businesses, and communities to promote inclusion.

Virginia has been indispensable since the beginning of its existence. In addition to eight U.S. presidents, the Commonwealth was home to numerous Founding Fathers who helped shape the direction of the country and many civil rights leaders who believed it was capable of more.

Virginia Offers Best-in-Class Export Assistance for Companies' Complete Life Cycle Exporting can be a strong strategy for connecting companies with demand or diversifying their market bases to better weather economic conditions.

The last year has been challenging to all aspects of the logistics industry, and The Port of Virginia was not immune.

International trade is beneficial for American consumers and businesses alike. Benefits for consumers include lower costs and a greater variety of goods available in their local markets.

John Keppler is chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Enviva, the world's largest producer of woody biomass and one of Virginia's largest exporters out of its private terminal in the city of Chesapeake.