Louis, Des Moines, and Minneapolis, has partly reinvented itself as a distribution hub for major companies.

NEWYORKER: Fussbudget

Still, Nissan said this week it would build a big distribution hub near Bangkok to export locally-made car parts.

ECONOMIST: Thailand

The area is the main distribution hub for Chinese imports, and it has added 50, 000 jobs in the past year.

ECONOMIST: America's property crisis

Wal-Mart will move to a new distribution hub in September.

ECONOMIST: Retailing in China

Like the Internet, this kind of distribution channel has many nodes of activity and no fixed hub.

FORBES: Inside Dope

Companies are also beginning to explore use of a central hub within the enterprise to deploy, support, track and manage distribution to employees.

FORBES: One: Applications