FEBRUARY 2008 E-NEWS

Kansas City SmartPort E-News

Meet SmartPort’s New Chairman

Mike Priest, regional vice president of TranSystems, began his term as chairman for KC SmartPort on January 23. Mike replaces John Wagner, president of Wagner Industries, SmartPort chairman for the past year.

Mike has cited the KC area’s advantage in the economic development industry as an important asset he intends to continue to elevate for the region. Read the full announcement.

Staubach Offers Valuable Advice

Staubach to KC’s industrial recruitment specialists: put less focus on real estate and more on revenue, inventory, transportation and labor when making the case for a KC location. Kris Bjorson spoke to KCADC’s ED Alliance meeting in January, offering valuable advice from his extensive experience siting more than 12 million square feet of industrial space in 77 markets across the U.S. including the recent location by Pacific Sunwear to the Kansas City region.  

Kris reminded the group that site location is a process of elimination. The most common reason the KC area is eliminated is site availability, an area Kris urged economic development experts to work on. The KC area does well with low cost land and aggressive incentive packages, low cost labor and the city’s ongoing improvements to quality of life. The area’s central location, strong real estate appreciation and expansive and educated labor pool also allow it to attract investment.


Value of Freight Crossing U.S. Borders Increases

Progressive Railroading Daily News recently reported, "goods valued at more than $74.2 billion crossed the U.S. border into and out of Canada and Mexico, representing an 11.1 percent increase," over last year.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, this is a new monthly record for surface trade – freight movements by rail, truck and pipeline.

To read full article visit Progressive Railroading.


TDE Update 

Phase I development on the trade documentation, risk analysis and logistics transactions is near completion.  Live supply chain tests will begin in early March with TDE supply chain partners.  The tests will demonstrate the systems ability to automate and share the data elements on the five key trade documents necessary for export shipments to Mexico.  The tests will provide insight into further developments and the expansion of the system in Phase II.

For more information contact Chris Gutierrez.


Kansas City Transportation Association

The Kansas City Transportation Association (KCTA) is a non-profit organization that works to promote greater knowledge of transportation through its own activities and its 230+ members. They do this through educational programs and activities focused on all aspects of public and private transportation. KCTA also promotes a spirit of fellowship among its members through various social activities.

For more information, visit KCTA.