Contact: David Pelletier (817/224-6044)
FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 27, 2010) – For the third consecutive year, Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone #196 ranks as the top General Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone in the United States in terms of the value of foreign goods admitted. In the recently released Annual Report of the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to the U.S. Congress (www.ia.ita.doc.gov/ftzpage/annualreport/ar-2008.pdf), Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone #196 admitted $5.357 billion in foreign products.
Utilization of Foreign-Trade Zone #196 at the Alliance Global Logistics Hub should continue to grow with the activation by ATC Logistics & Electronics in 2009. ATC Logistics & Electronics handles assembly, repairs and logistics for GPS and cell phone manufacturers and providers. The company leases close to a million square feet and employs 2,600 workers at its Alliance facilities.
“ATCLE anticipates that the use of the Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone will allow us to realize significant cost savings for our customers,” said Antony Francis, president of ATCLE. “As we grow and gain a better understanding of how effective it can be, we expect to expand our use of the Foreign Trade Zone in order to provide the best cost structure to our customers. ATCLE appreciates Hillwood’s diligence in providing a low-cost operating environment at Alliance and working closely with us to establish our Foreign-Trade Zone status.”
In addition to ATC Logistics & Electronics, major users of Foreign-Trade Zone #196 at the Alliance Global Logistics Hub include Hyundai, Trans-Trade, LEGO, and Motorola.
TOP U.S. GENERAL PURPOSE
FOREIGN TRADE ZONES
By Value Of Foreign Goods Admitted
(in millions $)
1. Fort Worth/Alliance (Texas)… $5,357
2. Newark/Elizabeth (N.J.)………….. 4,060
3. Harris County (Texas)…………….. 3,775
4. Port Hueneme (California)………. 3,063
5. El Paso (Texas)……………………… 1,200
6. Harrison County (MS)…………….. 1,168
7. Jacksonville (Florida)………………. 1,101
8. Long Beach (California)…………… 1,067
TOP TEXAS GENERAL PURPOSE
FOREIGN TRADE ZONES
By Value Of Foreign Goods Admitted
(in millions $)
U.S.
Rank
1. Fort Worth/Alliance …… $5,357 1
2. Harris County……………….. 3,775 3
3. El Paso………………………… 1,200 5
4. Ellis County…………………….. 995 9
5. Brownsville……………………… 987 10
6. Dallas……………………………… 679 15
7. McAllen………………………….. 456 19
8. DFW Airport……………………. 379 23
Foreign-trade zones 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 U.S. Customs territory for domestic consumption, in which case the importer normally has a choice of paying duties either on the original foreign materials or the finished product. Foreign-trade zone sites and activities remain within the jurisdiction of federal, state and local governments and agencies.
In large part due to its role in handling imports, AllianceTexas has had an economic impact of $36.4 billion on the North Texas economy. In addition the development has attracted $6.8 billion in private investment, generated more than $730 million in property taxes and created 28,000 fulltime jobs.
In addition to the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas development includes Alliance Town Center, the Monterra Village apartment home community, the corporate campuses of Circle T Ranch, the Vaquero estate golf community, and the Heritage and Saratoga residential communities. AllianceTexas now houses 7,200 single-family homes and 229 companies that occupy 31.2 million square feet. Approximately 60 companies at AllianceTexas are ranked on the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private Firms.
Hillwood, (www.hillwood.com) a Perot company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate developers in the country and the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. Close to 80 companies listed on either the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private firms have chosen to locate in Hillwood developments. In addition to the AllianceTexas project, Hillwood is best known for its development of American Airlines Center and the Victory mixed-use district near downtown Dallas and AllianceCalifornia near Los Angeles.
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