Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone (TX) Ranks As Top General Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone In The U.S.

The Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) #196 has been ranked as the top General Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone in the United States, in terms of the value of foreign goods admitted, according to the recently released Annual Report of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to the U.S. Congress. In the fiscal year 2010, the timeframe during which the report is based and the most recent data available, the Alliance FTZ admitted over $4 billion in foreign products, a 36 percent increase over 2009. This is the fourth time in five years the Alliance FTZ has received the top U.S. ranking.

Companies at the Alliance Logistics Hub that primarily utilize the Alliance FTZ include Cinram, Hyundai, LEGO, Motorola, GENCO ATC, Callaway Golf and Alliance Operating Services. Approximately 80 percent of the product received into the Alliance FTZ in 2010 arrived from China, plus 12 percent from South Korea and 8 percent from Denmark. Additional countries of origin included Mexico, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand.

Much of the product is received into the West Coast ports of L.A./Long Beach and remains within U.S. Customs and Border Protection bonded status as it travels to BNSF Railway’s Alliance Intermodal Facility at the Alliance Global Logistics Hub. The materials are transported to an FTZ-designated facility, where they can be inventoried, assembled, labeled, kitted, exported or destroyed. Use of the Foreign-Trade Zone enables companies to reduce importing costs and improve supply chain efficiencies. By operating within an FTZ, companies can maintain their location and jobs in the United States while taking advantage of international economic benefits as if they were located off-shore.

“The Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone continues to experience tremendous growth because of the substantial, and increasing, presence of global companies at AllianceTexas and in the surrounding region,” said Steve Boecking, vice president of Hillwood Properties, the developer of AllianceTexas. “Regional efforts to strengthen international relationships and to build new global trade partnerships have also resulted in an increased volume of foreign goods being shipped through North Texas.”

Activity at the Alliance FTZ is a major contributor to AllianceTexas’ overall economic impact on the North Texas region. A study released last year by Insight Research Corporation estimated the development’s cumulative economic impact at $40 billion over the past 22 years. Moreover, economist Ray Perryman cited the development of Fort Worth Alliance Airport as one of the 10 most influential economic events in Texas over the last 50 years.

In addition to the Alliance FTZ, the top five U.S. General Purpose FTZs in the U.S. during the fiscal year 2010, based on the value of foreign goods admitted, are:

Foreign-Trade Zone Value of Foreign Goods Admitted
1. Fort Worth/Alliance (Texas) $4.056 billion
2. Chicago (Ill.) $4.044 billion
3. Newark (N.J.) $3.285 billion
4. Houston (Texas) $2.971 billion
5. Charleston (S.C.) $2.055 billion

FTZs are secure areas under the supervision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They are considered outside the customs territory of the United States for the purposes of duty payment. Under zone procedures, the usual formal customs entry
procedure and payment of duties are not required on the foreign merchandise unless, and until, it enters customs territory for domestic consumption, in which case the importer normally has a choice of paying duties on the original foreign materials or the finished product. FTZ sites and activities remain within the jurisdiction of federal, state and local governments and agencies.

ABOUT ALLIANCETEXAS
AllianceTexas (www.alliancetexas.com) is a 17,000-acre, master-planned community anchored by the world’s first industrial airport. It includes the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, Circle T Ranch, Heritage, Alliance Town Center, Saratoga and Monterra Village projects. AllianceTexas is now home to 265 companies, which have built nearly 32 million square feet and created more than 30,000 jobs. The community also now includes more than 7,600 single-family homes and 288 luxury apartment homes. Since its inception, AllianceTexas has generated a $40.65 billion economic impact for the North Texas region.

ABOUT HILLWOOD
Hillwood, a Perot company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate investors and developers in the country and as the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. The company's developments currently house facilities for 58 companies listed on the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private firms. Hillwood is best known for its Alliance brand that includes the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas, 4,474-acre AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center and 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia developments. For additional information about the company, please visit www.hillwood.com.