Mid-Continent TradeWay Study
The Mid-Continent TradeWay
Study concluded that establishing an international trade processing center
(ITPC) in the Kansas City region is feasible.
The goal of the year-long study was to develop strategies to improve the
attractiveness of the region as a processing point for trade and commodities
between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The study identifies what
trade processing services can and should be provided in the region and
what steps are needed to implement them.
International Trade Processing Center Study
Full Report
- Executive Summary (1.7MB, pdf)
- Table of Contents (136KB, pdf)
- Chapter 1: Freight Flow Study (608KB, pdf)
- Chapter 2: Technology Study (1.9MB, pdf)
- Chapter 3: Institutional & Organizational Strategies (316KB, pdf)
- Chapter 4: Feasibility Study (571KB, pdf)
- Chapter 5: Implementation Plan (276KB, pdf)
The ITPC would offer producers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers an inland means for expediting shipments in and out of the US. These activities could in turn boost sales for local companies and attract industries to the Kansas City area, stimulating the economy and providing new jobs.
Streamlining processes to allow US companies to import and export raw materials and manufactured goods easier and faster is a primary goal the study addresses. Another goal is reducing trade-related paperwork. According to the US Department of Treasury, four to six percent of the value of all international trade is consumed by the government in the form of paperwork, certifications, licensing and freight movement regulatory requirements.
ITPC design
The ITPC design consists of centralized facilities plus a virtual process. This would use technology to allow pre-filing and compliance activities at multiple locations, capitalizing on Kansas City's extensive freight infrastructure and logistics facilities.
This option maximizes use of the many rail yards, intermodal yards, and other freight facilities in Kansas City and minimizes required infrastructure investments. The physical facilities would address the auxiliary processes that benefit the ITPC, including banking, customs brokerage, light manufacturing, catalog fulfillment and federal customs activities.
Future goals
Over the next year and a half, MARC and its partners in the study, The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City Area Development Council, are committed to:
- creating a corporation to raise public and private money to further develop the trade center concept;
- developing a communications system to encompass everything from a Web site for businesses to antennae with the capability to read a truck's content as it travels
- choosing among six sites to develop a centralized office to include loading docks, warehousing and services such as freight forwarders and U.S. Customs.