Central Logistics Hub
As the crossroads of North America, Kansas City offers a strong advantage for international and domestic supply chain operations. The central location and existing transportation infrastructure make the Kansas City region one of the nation’s largest hubs for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing operations. The region's abundant, multi-modal transportation - air, rail, road and water - give Kansas City the infrastructure for a world-class logistics hub.
- Rail: Kansas City is one of the largest rail centers in the U.S. by tonnage. Four of the Class 1 rail lines intersect the region including: BNSF, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. The rail infrastructure throughout the region includes: carload, intermodal, energy sector shipments, agricultural commodities as well as the automotive industry. The Kansas City region is unique in that four of the class 1 rail lines have intermodal facilities that are significant hubs in the national network.
- Road: Kansas City is located at the intersection of four major US Interstate Highways (I-35, I-70, I-29, and I-49). The region has 30% more interstate miles per capita than any city in the nation. The Kansas City region is known as one of the nation’s top five trucking centers, as 85% of the U.S. population can be reached from a Kansas City location in two days or less with ground transportation.
- Air: The Kansas City International Airport (KCI) moves more air cargo each year than any air center in a six-state region. A new airport terminal facility opened February 2023, which provides more efficient airline and air cargo operations. KCI airport ranks as one of the best locations for air cargo and distribution development in the U.S.
- Water: Kansas City is fortunate to be located on the Missouri River, the largest navigable inland waterway in the U.S. To support this, Port KC has over 900 feet of shoreline including three load cells and ample docking structures for 14 barges. Hoppers, conveying systems, certified truck scale and material handling equipment with covered and open storage capacity give the terminal an annual capacity of 800,000 tons. Future waterway growth is being planned at a new 415-acre Missouri River Terminal.