Photo credit: City of HesperiaHESPERIA — Hesperia announced, March 6, that Maersk, a Denmark-based global logistics and container shipping company, has chosen Hesperia as the site for its expansion.
According to the city, once open and fully staffed, Maersk will be one of the largest private employers in the city, bringing up to 500 new employment opportunities for residents.
Recent logistics job losses
The Inland Empire Economic Forecast and Analysis, reported that since 2021 the logistics industry has experienced employment losses of over 20,000 jobs. They attributed the losses to a hiring adjustment — companies over-hired with an expectation that the industry would continue to expand as it had since 2010.
Researchers concluded that the recent decline may be a good thing since it is only a necessary adjustment to new economic realities.
Fourth largest deal in 2023
Despite the recent decline, Maersk says they are contributing to the local community by generating up to 500 jobs in fulfillment and warehousing.
Maersk is set to operate from the newly developed Hesperia Commerce Center Building 2 — over 1.2 million square feet of industrial space. According to the city, this deal is the fourth largest — in terms of total square footage, signed in the Inland Empire in 2023.
Other tenants at the commerce center include Modway Furniture, Peloton Exercise Equipment, and Fellowship Logistics occupying a total of 3.2 million square feet of industrial space.
Other Developments
Hesperia also has several other developments in the works.
The city approved the Covington Group to develop three large industrial buildings totaling over two million square feet. Building and grading plans are in plan check for these buildings, which will be located south of Main Street between Highway 395 and the I-15.
In addition, a variety of new restaurants are opening in the winter of this year.
