eCommerce
In 2018, global retail eCommerce sales neared $3 trillion and are expected to reach approximately $4.8 trillion by 2021. Today, 52 percent of U.S. consumers are more likely to make a purchase online as opposed to buying the same item in-store. As the crossroads of North America, Kansas City offers a strong advantage as 85 percent of the U.S. population can be reached from a Kansas City location within two days or less.
The Kansas City region’s central location and available skilled workforce are key to a successful eCommerce strategy. These advantages have attracted eCommerce and distribution companies to create more than 6,500 jobs, invest $689 million and occupy 12.8 million square feet in the KC region in the past five years.
KC Manufacturing and Logistics Jobs
125,392
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018 QCEW
KC Location Advantages
Real Estate Ready Market
The Kansas City region offers a variety of buildings and sites that are excellent opportunities. A selection of aggressively priced industrial and warehouse space options helps enable a timely facility acquisition and operational start-up. Moreover, the KC area has seen more than 40 million square feet of industrial development since 2012, much of it speculative and market-ready. The KC industrial sector had 4.7 million square feet of absorption in 2018, making it the second strongest year on record following only the record-setting 2017. The Kansas City region is also unique in that all five of the class 1 rail lines have intermodal facilities that are significant hubs in the national network. Three of these have industrial park developments adjacent to the rail facilities. Kansas City will continue to be a key region for railroad development and growth. Explore regional real estate opportunities.
Location
Kansas City offers direct access to Midwest population centers, coastal markets and North America. Being located in the geographical center of the United States, plus the existing transportation infrastructure, makes Kansas City one of the nation’s largest hubs for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing operations. Kansas City’s central location and being at the intersection of four major US Interstate Highways (I-35, I-70, I-29, and I-49), 85% of the U.S. can be reached from a Kansas City location within in 2 days or less. The region is known as one of the nation’s top five trucking centers.
Rail Access
Kansas City is one of the largest rail centers in the U.S. by tonnage. Five of the Class 1 rail lines intersect the region (BNSF, CP, KCS, NS, UP). Kansas City Southern (KCS) headquarters is located in Kansas City, Missouri. The rail infrastructure throughout the region includes: carload, intermodal (both domestic and international), energy sector shipments, agricultural commodities as well as the automotive industry.
Workforce Pipeline
Kansas City understands supply chain. A diligent, Midwestern work ethic and access to education are just a few reasons why the workforce in Kansas City is one of the best in the country. Currently there are several local training programs in the area focused on preparing the labor force for the current and upcoming jobs in the transportation and logistics industry. Numerous educational institutions around the Kansas City region have supply chain management programs in place. The University of Kansas is home to one of the top 25 for U.S. university supply chain management programs. As a supply chain hub, the Kansas City region is dedicated to identifying the training needs for the industry and advancing the best supply chain workforce available.
Options
With two states, 18 counties and 50 plus communities, Kansas City gives companies something all consumers crave—choice. Two state tax structures, double the incentive programs and urban and suburban location options. All offered in one market—OneKC.
Labor Snapshot
The real estate-ready market, central location, transportation infrastructure access, and skilled workforce of KC makes it attractive to eCommerce and distribution companies. Explore the labor snapshots below to better understand the KC workforce advantage.
For more information regarding eCommerce and logistics in the Kansas City region, visit
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