San Joaquin County has been one of the top benefactors of Amazon’s push to expand its network of fulfillment centers.

Amazon has almost doubled its number of fulfillment centers to more than 930 locations in the United States during the past two years.

That includes a third location in Stockton and the first fulfillment center in Manteca that is located on Airport Way at Lovelace Road.

Altogether there are six San Joaquin County locations with two in Tracy, three in Stockton, and one in Manteca. A third is under construction in Tracy.

Manteca also has a delivery Amazon center on Louise Avenue that serves as their delivery hub for the San Joaquin-Stanislaus counties area that is expected to be replaced for an even larger hub on Airport Way in Manteca.

The delivery hub is part of Amazon’s efforts to deliver more of its own packages. Amazon now delivers 56 percent of its packages with United Parcel, the Postal Service, and Federal Express handling the rest.

Currently, San Joaquin County is tied with San Bernardino County with six operating fulfillment centers. That puts both counties in the top five counties nationwide for Amazon fulfillment centers based on data compiled by the FBAHelp Co.

Stanislaus County also has a fulfillment center in Patterson and one currently under construction in Turlock.

When the Turlock and third Tracy locations are completed they will bring the number to eight in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Amazon serves the majority of the 18 million consumers in the Northern California metroplex that is formed by the triangle of San Jose, San Francisco-Oakland and Sacramento from the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

That is in addition to Amazon air cargo operations at Stockton Metro Airport.

The reasons include:

*It is a region that is centrally located to move goods to areas throughout the metroplex.

*Land development costs are significantly less expensive this side of the Altamont Pass and somewhat lower than Sacramento. The fact Amazon can serve the Sacramento market from the same fulfillment centers supplying Bay Area consumers is a huge advantage.

*Labor costs are lower in the Northern San Joaquin Valley with a larger available pool of employees.

*The area has the best logistics movement network in the north state between Interstate 5, Highway 99, Interstate 280-580, intermodal facilities operated by both Santa Fe Railroad, and Union Pacific Railroad, as well as Stockton Metro Airport.

The Northern San Joaquin Valley is the north state equivalent of the Inland Empire in Southern California when it comes to logistics movements for the Los Angeles Basin and San Diego region. Between San Bernardino and Riverside — the two counties of the Inland Empire — there are 11 Amazon fulfillment centers.

During the last two year’s Amazon has added 670,000 workers to its global workforce. The company now has more than 1.4 million workers worldwide.

Amazon added more than 450 fulfillment centers during the last two years in a drive to be able to ship its packages within five hours.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com