One afternoon, a truck pulled up to a JT Logistics warehouse in the Des Moines area. Due to a mix-up, the driver had arrived two hours before his scheduled drop-off. Now, his son’s T-ball game was about to begin, and he was almost certainly going to miss it—unless something amazing happened.
Then, it did.
“He explained the situation and asked if there was any way we could get him unloaded early—and fast,” said Jamie Cord, President & CEO and Partner of JT Logistics.
“We had his truck unloaded in 17 minutes. That’s quick. Later, when we were wrapping up his paperwork, he looked at the wall and saw our tagline: Create Amazing. He said, ‘You just did that for me. You created amazing. And now, I get to go home and see my kid’s ball game.’
“Isn’t that cool? For us, that’s what it’s all about.”
“We’re the Advil to a Client’s Headache”
Since 2014, JT Logistics has been on a mission to Create Amazing. What started as a small operation—with one warehouse, one truck, and a handful of employees—grew rapidly. Over the years, Jamie and his team expanded their offerings and invested in new equipment and facilities, all while staying focused on their core competencies.
Today, JT Logistics is a leader in the third-party logistics industry, providing fully integrated warehouse, transportation, and fulfillment services to clients across a wide range of industries. In 2024, the company was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for the fourth year running.
And yet, while his company has grown and evolved over the last eleven years, Jamie said that the goal has remained the same: to solve the seemingly unsolvable.
“Having all these supply chain solutions integrated together makes it easier for us to solve problems,” he said.
“I like to think of JT Logistics as the Advil to a client’s headache. It might be warehousing. It might be packaging. It might be staffing or transportation, or all the above. Whatever their challenge, we can solve it. That’s what we mean when we say we create amazing.”
“In Altoona, You’re at the Center of Everything”
For JT Logistics, one of their most amazing creations is a warehouse campus in Altoona.
Located at the intersection of I-80 and U.S. Route 65, the JT Logistics campus offers over 2,000,000-SF of warehouse space across seven buildings. The location’s convenient highway access allows customers to get their product to market faster, while Altoona’s central location means that nearly all major Midwest markets are within a day’s drive.
“For logistics businesses, there are a lot of benefits to being in Altoona,” Jamie said. “Land prices are generally lower. Construction prices are very competitive, as are labor rates and utilities.
“But the key advantage for our clients is the proximity to the end-user and the ease of access. In Altoona, you’re at the center of everything.”
Beyond its strategic location, JT Logistics’ Altoona warehouses are designed for speed, efficiency, and customization. Each first-generation building is specialized to meet the needs of a key industry, including agriculture, food and beverage, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, and more. They have the amenities you’d expect of state-of-the-art warehouses, from advanced temperature monitoring and security systems to energy-efficient technology, high-efficiency storage solutions, and more. They also have many small details that can make a big difference, such as wider bay doors for smooth and efficient loading.
At JT Logistics’ Altoona campus, the things that you can’t see are just as important as the things that you can. With a wide range of facilities and flexible terms, the company can create custom, turnkey solutions that work with a business’ unique needs.
Need a specialized e-commerce platform with order management, handling, picking and kitting? They have you covered.
Need to ensure that your food-grade facilities adhere to licensing standards? They can handle that, too.
Need to get your operation up and running fast? Thanks to their end-to-end offerings and deep industry expertise, JT Logistics can move quickly, which means that their customers can get to market sooner.
“For many customers today, speed to market is everything,” Jamie said. “We have the infrastructure, the facilities, the people, the systems, the skills, the tenure, and the capacity. We also have the creativity.”
“Maybe You’ve Heard of Tariffs?”
JT Logistics’ creativity can be seen most vividly in the Altoona campus’ bonded warehouse space.
Managed by the Port Authority and the TSA, this space functions as an international zone where importers can delay paying trade fees until a buyer accepts goods for consumption. There are few locations like it in the United States, and JT Logistics’ Altoona campus offers businesses a major advantage—especially during a trade war.
“Maybe you’ve heard of tariffs? A few people are talking about them right now,” Jamie said.
“Bonded spaces like ours allow customers to potentially save millions of dollars in tariff fees. For example, if your company ships products to the U.S. before moving them elsewhere, then you can alleviate or eliminate tariffs entirely by storing them in a bonded warehouse.
“We have one customer that’s saving upwards of $15 million simply by putting their goods in a bonded warehouse and delaying tariffs. That’s a big deal. And you’ll only find it in Altoona.”
“More Than Meets the Eye”
For Dean O’Connor, Mayor of Altoona, the most amazing thing about JT Logistics is how the company, along with many others, is transforming his community.
“Any time you’re bringing a business to a community, there are going to be hurdles,” Dean said. “But the City Council and I, along with all the City staff, work hard to make it as seamless as possible for businesses like JT Logistics. Because we’ve seen how they’ve transformed our community.
“These companies bring more jobs and employees. Those people buy houses in our neighborhoods, they eat at our restaurants, they shop at our stores, and they help grow and nurture our culture.
“Over the years, as Altoona’s entertainment industry has grown, our warehousing and data sectors have grown alongside it, and they have made us stronger.
“It’s funny. Most of us drive by warehouses every day, and we don’t give them much thought. But when you think about the role they play in our community, they’re much more than meets the eye.”
Get Connected
Located in a business-friendly community at the center of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, JT Logistics’ Altoona campus has over 500,000-SF of available space.
Businesses looking to partner with JT Logistics or sublease warehouse space can learn more here.