America’s 100 Best Cities for Global Trade: Cities With FTZs Cited More Frequently

One of the key benefits that a location can bring an international shipper is the presence of a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). The benefits of a FTZ to international supply chain companies include but are not limited to:

• Duty Deferral and Elimination
• Inverted Tariff Relief
• Ad Valorem Tax Relief
• Damaged or Non-Conforming Items
• Exportation Requirements

(For more details about these benefits, visit our article detailing the 5 Benefits of Using a Foreign Trade Zone.) 

FTZ can be a strategy- and there are countless other economic, geographic, social, regulatory or political factors that can influence where companies domicile their international shipping and distribution operations. Recently, Global Trade Magazine posted its list of top locations for international trade in their article, “America’s Best Cities for Global Trade.” This list of 100 cities is broken down by various criteria that benefit global trade, in categories like Business Environment, Export Assistance, and Innovation.

Global Trade Magazine’s report offers “10 needs-oriented and relevant categories and looks at 10 cities in each [of those categories] that you should consider… when looking, for instance, for a great business environment, a well-educated or skilled workforce, a globally minded city or assistance with your site-selection process.”

Reno, Nevada was named as an Innovative city for, among other things – the advantage it has on many other US cities in the area of innovation for global exporters:

“Reno is poised to become one of the world’s centers of innovation for autonomous systems, that is, those pilotless drones that may soon be tracking wildfires, helping to manage mining and agriculture, and delivering online orders to the country’s doorsteps. The Federal Aviation Administration recently chose Nevada as one of its test sites and the University of Nevada, Reno has already located its Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center in a downtown building.”

Some of the largest names in new technology, renewable energy, data storage, automotive (see recent Tesla story) and aviation, along with online retailers including Amazon and Zulily have recently announced their relocation or expansion plans into the area. The benefits of the area are many – including strong business tax incentives, workforce development programs and robust distribution infrastructure. To learn more, check out this resource from the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) – WHY RENO.

Establishing distribution operations in a new area does not have to be a daunting task. Here are a few tips to consider when evaluating whether your distribution and international transportation operations are in the right location.

1. Business development organizations like EDAWN or the local chamber of commerce are a wealth of information, their job is to help ensure you have all of the information you need to relocate.
2. Leveraging supply chain analytics to evaluate your own supply chain, and how your product moves through it. Learn more about using supply chain contextual data visualization to make the right decision.
3. Does the area have a strong FTZ framework – and is it right for your business?

The right supply chain footprint is important to optimizing supply chain spend. There are many tools and resources out there to help set up your supply chain for success.

For more on global trade, download our latest ebook — International Transportation: Price Matters, But At What Cost?