Logistics

Kansas City is the most geo-central major market in the United States and has a well-established multimodal transportation network that supports efficient, cost-effective distribution. As a result, Kansas City is a major logistics hub that attracts a wide range of logistics, supply chain, and transportation businesses, including freight haulers (local, interstate, and international), storage and warehouse operations, wholesalers, and distributors.

In addition to its longstanding status as a domestic hub, Kansas City also serves as America’s inland port solution, supporting the global supply chain and providing a cost-effective alternative to the nation’s overburdened seaports.

Why is Kansas City, Missouri, a great place for logistics?

Transportation infrastructure

Kansas City’s central location and established transportation networks offer many advantages to logistics, supply chain, and transportation businesses:

• Served by four major railroads, making it the No. 1 rail center in the United States by tonnage.
• Located at the center of a rail corridor spanning coast-to-coast across the U.S. and extending from Canada to Mexico (NAFTA Railway).
• More than 300 trains arriving and departing Kansas City each day.
• The metro area has 90 miles of track, coordinated by the Kansas City Terminal Railway Co.
• More Foreign Trade Zone space than any other U.S. city (over 10,000 acres).
• More freeway-lane miles per capita than any other U.S. city.
• One of only five U.S. cities in which three interstate highways intersect (I-35, I-70, I-29) and soon to have a fourth (I-49).
• No. 3 trucking center in the U.S.
• Single-day truck access to nearly every major Midwestern market.
• Most underground warehouse space in the U.S.
• The Kansas City area moves more air cargo in a six state area than any other region in the U.S.

Growing capacity

Two intermodal logistics parks are currently under development in the Kansas City, Missouri, with additional Class A industrial space being built on a speculative basis.

• CenterPoint – KCS Intermodal Center – CenterPoint Properties is the master developer of a 1,000-acre project that is home to the Kansas City Southern (KCS) intermodal operation. The center is projected to offer close to 7 million square feet of industrial space at its completion.
• KCI Intermodal Business Centre – Trammell Crow is the master developer of this industrial space at Kansas City International Airport, which is conveniently located at the intersection of two interstate highways. This 800-acre development features a 500,000 square foot spec building, and is in the first phase of a plan to leverage nearly 8,000 acres of airport-controlled land.

Supply-chain technology

The Trade Data Exchange (TDE) is a cargo data risk management clearinghouse that connects importers/exporters, carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, financial institutions and governments along the supply chain. The TDE is a shared logistics data solution implemented across all transportation modes, all industries and all trade participants. A SmartPort-branded Web interface provides trade partners secure access to all shipment data limited by role-based permissions. Members exchange shipment data to electronically create and validate commercial trade documentation and streamline delivery of commercial trade documentation.

Skilled workforce

Employers in Kansas City, Missouri, have access to a metro-wide workforce of more than 1 million, and area workers bring a strong Midwestern work ethic to their jobs. In addition, the logistics sector has access to a skilled workforce and industry-specific training programs:

• According to the Mid-America Regional Council, 4.3% of the workforce in the Kansas City area is employed in distribution and warehouse jobs, compared to 3.2% nationally.
• In Kansas City, Missouri, the number of employees with experience in this sector is even higher. For instance, more than 10% of employees in Jackson County working in the logistics sector.
• SmartPort has spearheaded a supply chain education initiative that has brought companies in the transportation and logistics industry together with area educational institutions to identify training needs. Currently, there are a number of local programs that provide training in transportation and logistics.

Related businesses

Manufacturers from many industries are attracted to Kansas City, Missouri, in large part because of its advantages as a hub for shipping and receiving. Our manufacturing sector includes companies as diverse as Harley-Davidson, Honeywell, Farmland Foods, General Mills, and International Paper. FedEx Corporation has an Express Air Cargo Facility and a FedEx Ground Hub & Local Terminal in Kansas City, Missouri, and UPS also has a major distribution center in the metro area.

Kansas City, Missouri, is home to a wide variety of commercial distributors, including Grainger, Hallmark Cards, Major Brands, Musician’s Friend, O’Reilly Automotive, Pure Fishing, and Wainwright Industries. In addition, the wider metro area is home to a host of major brand-name distributors, including Coca Cola Bottling, Del Monte, Ford Motor Company, Garmin International, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Pacific Sunwear, Pepsi-Cola, Sony Electronics, Target, Toys ‘R Us, and Tyson Foods.