Distribution

THE KANSAS CITY REGION:  Supply Chain Centered 

The Kansas City region has a rich history as a center for commerce. Its heartland, river-based location made it a natural crossroads for transcontinental rail, interstate, and waterway. Through its history, Greater Kansas City has established itself as the leading center for trade and distribution within the central United States. Kansas City is experiencing one of the largest industrial booms in its history and is a center of choice for warehousing, manufacturing and distribution. Business has prospered due in large part to the region’s abundant, multi-modal transportation network.

Kansas City has several key components that make it an excellent hub for all transportation and logistics operations.

Location

Kansas City is the most centrally located major U.S. market. It is the focal point of movement and distribution of goods.

• Located at the intersection of four of the nation’s major interstate highways (I-35, I-70, I-29, I-49).
• KC is the largest rail center in the U.S. by tonnage.
• Located at the heart of a rail corridor spanning coast to coast across the U.S. and extending from Canada to Mexico (NAFTA Railway).
• The Kansas City International Airport moves more air cargo each year than any air center in a six-state region.
• Located on the largest navigable inland waterway (Missouri/Mississippi River system).
• Kansas City has more Foreign Trade Zone space than any other U.S. city.

Workforce

Kansas City is a growing distribution market and has a larger portion of employment in the distribution and warehousing sector than the U.S. as a whole. The KC region has 94,940 workers in the transportation and warehouse industry. The industry has proven to be a regional strength over a long period of time. Kansas City mirrors the U.S. regarding employment in distribution and warehousing, therefore proving to be a stable industry over a long period of time. 

Community Benefits

The growth of eCommerce has driven the demand for distribution centers (DCs) in recent years. This can provide many benefits to communities with distribution centers, including job growth, revenue generation through increased tax income, road and infrastructure developments, utilizing vacant buildings or land, and other positive impacts. Read more.

Vertical Ready

More than 60 million square feet of industrial development has been built in the Kansas City region since 2012, a majority of it on a speculative basis. KC’s move-in ready, existing building inventory and selection of vertical-ready sites enables companies to secure their real estate and begin operations or development of their facility immediately. Kansas City is an aggressively priced industrial market with a number of incentive programs to support distribution operations.

4 Intermodal Logistics Parks

With an extensive rail and highway infrastructure, the region is an ideal location for intermodal activity. Kansas City offers manufacturers and distributors direct access to Midwest population centers, coastal markets and North America. The four intermodal parks in the Kansas City region provide companies with multiple options for state-of-the-art warehousing, distribution and manufacturing facilities that are located near a major transportation hub. Read more about the Kansas City intermodal logistics parks.