The St. Louis Regional Freightway hosted a riverboat cruise as part of
FreightWeekSTL 2025, introducing educators, visiting delegates from Argentina and other regional business leaders
to the Ag Coast of America. The June 5th cruise highlighted key freight assets that position the St. Louis region as a
thriving freight and logistics hub with global access, while also calling attention to the vast career opportunities in
this vibrant sector of the region’s economy. The curated tour provided an up-close look at critical elements of the
region’s multimodal freight network, including roads and bridges; rail and barge facilities; multimodal freight transfer
services; and the ports and infrastructure that have made this section of the Mississippi River the Ag Coast of
America.
Approximately 50 educators participating in the Show-Me Careers summer externship program were among the
guests on board the cruise. The Show-Me Careers: Educator Experience is a week-long development program
designed for educators, counselors, and administrators to gain firsthand insight into today’s career pathways and is a
partnership between the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Regional Business Council, and the
Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education They teamed up with Bi-State Development and its St. Louis
Regional Freightway enterprise to take part in the Ag Coast Cruise, during which they learned about careers in the
logistics industry from industry leaders.
Dan Lester, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Ingram Infrastructure Group, highlighted barge and
terminal roles. He touched on deckhand training programs and equipment operations, with starting wages around
$25 per hour and potential six-figure salaries for boat pilots for those who advance with the company. Adam
Mahlandt, General Manager of TRRA, emphasized high-paying entry-level railroad jobs ($75,000 to $100,000), strong
benefits, and in-house training, while noting the demanding, all-weather nature of the work. Brad Reinhardt,
President of WEL St. Louis, a third-party logistics firm, discussed opportunities in the trucking industry, with local
delivery drivers starting at $40,000 to $50,000 with a Class B license, and those with a Class A license to drive larger
vehicles longer distances (age 21+) starting at $60,000 to $80,000. He said Walmart drivers can earn $120,000+. He
also highlighted logistics roles such as freight booking and coordination, which start in the $40,000 to $50,000 range,
and sales and manufacturing logistics roles, which start at $65,000 to $70,000 but usually require a college degree.
Across all sectors, speakers stressed the importance of adaptability, communication, and a willingness to learn, with
many roles requiring no prior experience and offering on-the-job training. Tech skills, especially in AI and logistics
systems, are increasingly valuable, and the industry welcomes both hands-on workers and those with strong people
skills. Outdoor readiness and physical awareness are also helpful.
“When you talk about jobs, you talk about job creation, we’ve got a lot of opportunities,” said Lester.
Madison Avery, a family consumer science teacher at Pattonville High School, was inspired by what she learned. “Oh
my gosh, it was so fun. I did not know that St. Louis was a global logistics hub and I’ve lived here my whole life. It
really opened up my eyes as an individual, which is really, really beneficial for all the access that I have to students
looking to get a career,” said Avery. “That is really important to me. Now that I’m educated, I can further educate my
students. There are excellent paying jobs straight out of high school and the required training will be given to you.”
Drew McAllister, Program Director for The Spark program through the Parkway School District, was excited to learn
that the port operators would be open to having students out to visit their facilities. “I think that would be an
amazing student experience to connect with one of the ports here near the river and really see all the pieces that go
into making a large section of our economy,” said McAllister.
Brian Crouse, Vice President of Education for the Missouri Chamber, was enthusiastic about the impact the Ag Coast
tour could have back in classrooms across the bi-state region. “It was a great experience. They got a chance to hear
from industry about where the starting jobs are and where the potential to finish for that job could be,” Crouse said.
“We heard from rail anywhere from 70 to one hundred thousand dollars starting out. That’s phenomenal. Today’s
students just don’t know about that. Bringing these educators in on FreightWeek is a wonderful partnership between
Bi-State Development and the Missouri Chamber. And, hopefully, they go back to their schools and talk about the
careers in multimodal for their students, so they can see the opportunities.”
The cruise also was on the agenda for a group of delegates from Córdoba Province in Argentina whose trip to the St.
Louis region was organized by The Yield Lab Institute and BioSTL, as part of the Cultivar initiative, to foster greater
collaboration between St. Louis and South and Latin American agricultural and food-related companies and
organizations. More than 30 people participated in the mission, including senior leaders and entrepreneurs from
across Argentina’s ag-tech, bioenergy, food processing, and agri-finance sectors. The delegates learned about
operations in the Ag Coast and the efficiencies it delivers.
“It’s great to see all these [grain] elevators and operations move such a huge number of grains over the river and
how they maintain the river depth to keep the grains flowing. The farmers have a low cost,” said Manuel Ron,
President of an innovation agency in Córdoba Province. “Being efficient in these freight operations is very important
to have a good cost for commodities. We have similar operations in Argentina, so we have lot to learn here about
this.” Ron said he sees potential for startups in Argentina to be part of the St. Louis ecosystem and vice versa.
The Ag Coast Cruise is a signature event of FreightWeekSTL, which was hosted June 2 – 6 by the St. Louis Regional
Freightway. Mary Lamie, head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway, provided guests on board with background on
why the St. Louis region is branded as the Ag Coast of America. She highlighted how the 16 barge-transfer facilities
concentrated in a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River anchored by the Gateway Arch can handle more than 150
barges a day – the highest level of capacity anywhere along the Mississippi River. She also called attention to the St.
Louis region’s port system’s ranking as the most efficient inland port system in the nation.
“The punch line on this is we are a global logistics hub,” Lamie said. “We have a tremendous number of jobs in the
transportation industry. With today’s program, we believe this is a really great opportunity to better connect
classroom knowledge with business and industry applications.” Lamie also is Executive Vice President of Multimodal
Enterprises for Bi-State Development, which operates the Gateway Arch Riverboats.
For information on the Gateway Arch Riverboat’s regular sightseeing riverboat cruises and other specialty cruises
and entertainment available, visit www.gatewayarch.com/riverboats. To learn more about FreightWeekSTL 2025 or
view any of the video sessions from June 2 – 6, visit www.freightweekstl.com.
