Targeting the Logistics Industry in Economic Development

International business is the backbone of many communities across the United States.  Whether it is exporting, 95% of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States, or importing, the U.S. imported $1.727 trillion worth of goods in 2005 .  Many communities rely on the transportation of goods to support their economy.  The U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) highlighted these “Global Gateways” in the summer 2006 edition of Economic Development America.   In this month’s Hot Topics, we summarize some of these programs and featured communities.

Red River Valley Tech Corridor – Grand Forks, North Dakota

The Red River Valley Tech Corridor stretches from North Dakota’s Interstate 29 to Winnipeg, Canada.  For the past three years, the Corridor has been working with EDA on enhancing the services offered by the University of North Dakota.  The focus has been on providing high-tech training programs and facilitating innovation-led economic development, creating and expanding businesses that utilize scientific and technological expertise of faculty and students, and increasing local, high technology, enterprises competitiveness.

Greater Ouachita Port Commission – West Monroe, Louisiana

According to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Sandy Baruah,
“EDA invested $1.5 million in the Greater Ouachita Port Commission of West Monroe, Louisiana, to help build an intermodal facility and specialty handling facility.  The investment is working to provide the North Delta Region of Louisiana with access to international maritime trade and commerce.”
Intermodal refers to any service where two or more modes of transportation are combined to facilitate a single movement of either freight or passengers.

TradeRoots – U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Statistically, U.S. companies that export products or services grow faster, fail less often and pay higher wages.  For this reason, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce created TradeRoots, a trade education and advocacy program to educate small and medium-sized companies on the available resources to make exporting a viable growth strategy.  The program is four step: Education, Facilitation, Coalition-building and Advocacy.

Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory (BNSL) – Santa Teresa, New Mexico

The BNSL based in Santa Teresa, New Mexico was formed to a 2,000 mile long Silicon Valley.  Their vision is to bring emerging technology businesses to the bi-national corridor spanning the U.S.-Mexican border.  Contributing to the program are the advanced aerospace and automotive industries in West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Chihuahua, enterprises in Laredo, Nogales, Mexicali and El Paso, regional universities and national research labs and centers.

Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (SETAAC)

SETAAC at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute is a non-profit organization that provides assistance in manufacturing, sales and marketing, and information systems.  They focus on making companies that are experiencing heightened import pressures more competitive.  An example of their services is aiding small businesses achieve certifications required for importing to certain countries.

Border Trade Alliance (BTA)

The BTA is a grass-roots, non-profit advocacy organization that addresses key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America.  They work with entities in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. advocating policies and initiatives designed to improve border affairs and trade relations among the three nations.

Kansas City

It is estimated that 50-60% of the containerized imports that come into ports on the West Coast end up on the other side of the United States.  Existing western ports are severally conjested, creating a need for new ports and transportation networks.  For these reasons, Kansas City is planning to become the destination and distribution center for Asian cargo.  The city plans to continue building on their historical role as a major transportation hub.  They are currently the second largest rail center and process more than $9 billion in imports annually.  In March 2005, Kansas City partnered with the Mexican state of Michoacan and Lazaro Cardenas to increase cargo volume between the two cities.  Containers unloading in Lazaro Cardenas are up to 15% cheaper to unload than those moving through the traditional western ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles.

Millions of dollars of goods and services are crossing the United States' borders everyday.  By becoming a “Global Gateway,” communities and regions have the opportunity to succeed in the global marketplace. 

*Do you subscribe to The Agurban, our weekly ezine?  If so, be sure to check out the September 5 edition on Yuma, AZ’s Global Gateway strategy.