U.S. Foreign Trade Zone Board Releases its 85th Annual Report to Congress

September 12, 2024 – The U.S. Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Board recently released its 2023 Annual Report to Congress, and the Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone (GKCFTZ) ranked in the top 25 of the 200 active U.S. Foreign Trade Zones in multiple categories.

Twelve companies operate in the GKCFTZ, which includes Zone 15 in western Missouri and Zone 17 in eastern Kansas, and is one of the largest zones in the country, with more than 450 million square feet of approved foreign trade zone space. In 2023, these GKCFTZ companies:

• Provided the most FTZ activity in both Missouri and Kansas.

• Received nearly $2 billion worth of foreign and domestic goods.

• Exported $618 million of goods from the zone.

• Employed 2,500 people in the Kansas City region.

• Created $3 billion in value-added activity.

“The GKCFTZ continues to see interest from manufacturing and distribution companies currently operating in the Kansas City region as well as those looking to set up new operations,” said Chris Gutierrez, president of GKCFTZ and KC SmartPort. “Panasonic Energy is our newest operator that will add a significant amount of jobs and activity to the Kansas City FTZ.”

FTZs are secured, designated locations around the United States in or near a U.S. Customs Port of Entry where foreign and domestic merchandise is generally considered to be in international commerce and outside of U.S. Customs territory. As a result, activated businesses in an FTZ can defer, reduce or eliminate duty on imports and take advantage of other benefits to encourage foreign commerce within the United States.

Kansas City’s central location and existing multi-modal transportation structure supports the GKCFTZ, providing a strong advantage for international supply chain operations to attract foreign investment into the area. FTZ users enjoy cost-saving benefits in cost of goods stored, produced or assembled, as well as cost reductions in transportation, distribution and other supply chain components.

The Kansas City region is one of the nation’s largest hubs for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing operations, ranking No. 2 in the Midwest and No. 4 in the nation for containerized imports, having achieved an estimated volume of 238,000 TEUs in 2021. Kansas City also ranked in the top 15 U.S. cities for foreign businesses by the Financial Times and Nikkei. 

About The Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone, Inc.
GKCFTZ is a regional grantee of the national FTZ program. In 1974, GKCFTZ was the first nonprofit organization to be designated a grantee. GKCFTZ sponsors both Foreign-Trade Zone No. 15 in Kansas City, Missouri, and Zone No. 17 in Kansas City, Kansas. Zone 15 serves FTZ needs in 23 contiguous counties in the western half of Missouri, and Zone 17 presently serves nine counties in metropolitan Kansas City, Kansas. GKCFTZ is one of the largest zones in the country, with over 450 million square feet of approved foreign trade zone space that includes General Purpose and Subzone space in both Kansas and Missouri. | www.gkcftz.com 

About KC SmartPort
An affiliate of the Kansas City Area Development Council, KC SmartPort is the authority on industrial operations in the 18-county, two-state Kansas City region. The nonprofit economic development organization promotes and enhances the Kansas City region’s status as a leading North American inland port and logistics hub, attracting industrial company investment into the market. In the last five years, KC SmartPort has contributed to the attraction of nearly 12,000 jobs, more than $575 million in payroll and $5.8 billion in capital investment to the KC region. | www.kcsmartport.com