SmartPort aims to ease international trade

Chris Gutierrez, president of Kansas City SmartPort, spoke of the program’s benefits to shippers, carriers and brokers during a lunch Wednesday sponsored by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

SmartPort is a not-for-profit organization formed to promote the Kansas City area as an inland port. The group encourages economic development in the transportation and logistics industry and works to make trade cheaper, faster, more efficient and secure. Funding comes from companies and the government.

Gutierrez touted a pending agreement that would allow exports to clear customs in Kansas City and eliminate delays and costs at the Mexican border. During a test of the new system, one Kansas City firm saw its shipping time from Kansas City to Guadalajara, Mexico, reduced from 10 days to three days.

Shipments would be electronically monitored to verify that the load did not change on the way to Mexico. But Gutierrez said U.S. and Mexican customs agents would still have the right to conduct random inspections at the border. Kansas City agents would be able to process about 320 trucks each day, he said.

Guiterrez talked about improvements at a large, deep-water Mexican port that is served by the Kansas City Southern railroad. He said that Asian freight bound for Joplin would reach its destination quicker than if it passed through congested California ports. A deal between KCS and the Mexican government allows freight shipped on the railroad to pass through the country without an inspection.

He said the railroad is planning dedicated train service to Kansas City’s intermodal facility to speed distribution. That means that Asian freight that now passes through Kansas City on its way to Chicago to be unpacked would stop, making the shipping more efficient.

“Other markets including St. Joseph, Joplin and Springfield will benefit,” Gutierrez said.

He noted that unsecured freight would not enter Kansas City or other cities in the region.

Joan Rutherford, branch manager of Western Overseas Corp. in Springfield, said that 60 percent of the international trade that her firm handles passes through Kansas City.

Morris Glaze, of Standard Transportation Services, said he was glad to learn about a way to avoid theft and delays at the border.[[In-content Ad]]