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Phoenix

General Description

The Phoenix Foreign Trade Zone (PFTZ) is located in Arizona and has two general-purpose zone sites and nine sub zone sites. One general-purpose zone site consists of approximately 278 acres located at Phoenix Sky Harbor Center (a business park adjacent to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport) and approximately 60 acres within the air cargo area of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The second site has approximately 15 acres and is located within the CC&F South Valley Industrial Center (a multi-owner business park at Seventh Street and Elwood Street) in an industrial area immediately south of downtown in central Phoenix.55

There are also the nine sub zones operated by the following companies56:

  1. Conair Corporation
  2. WalMart Stores, Inc. (sub zone is currently deactivated)
  3. Intel Corporation
  4. STMicroelectronics, Inc.
  5. Abbott Laboratories
  6. PETsMART
  7. SUMCO Southwest
  8. Microchip Technology, Inc.
  9. American Italian Pasta Co.

Infrastructure

Energy

The PFTZ has access to an established energy network. Among electricity providers are companies such as APS and SRP that supply electricity to residential and commercial clients.

Telecommunications

US West is the primary local telecommunication services provider. It has made significant infrastructure investments in Arizona with the development of its Network 21 System. Greater Phoenix is currently one of the top five regional fiber optic deployments in the United States. Greater Phoenix has a system of 15 self-healing fiber optic rings and a local US West fiber network covering 897 square miles.57

Transportation

Road Transport
Interstate 10 is the main artery crossing the Southern states in the US (i.e., the Sunbelt). It extends from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. It enables overnight service from Phoenix to markets with a combined population of more than 10 million people.58

Sea Transport
The PFTZ is not situated directly by, but relatively close to seaport facilities of San Diego and Los Angeles.

Rail Transport
Two transcontinental rail lines (the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe) serve Greater Phoenix. Trailer on flat car (TOFC), container on flat car (COFC) and de-ramping facilities for TOFC and COFC are available rail services.59

Air Transport
Phoenix is served by Sky Harbor International Airport, which is the ninth-busiest airport in the U.S. and 18th in the world for passenger traffic. The airport is served by more than 22 airlines and has non-stop flights to nearly every major city in the U.S.60 The Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport is located in neighbouring Mesa and serves the area's commercial air traffic.

Financial Sector

The PFTZ has access to an established financial network. Financial institutions, such as World Bank Group, Bank of America, PNC, Fifth Third Bank, BB&T, Bank of the West and others provide a wide range of financial services in this area.

Business Sectors

Table 2 below shows the key sectors operating at the PFTZ and the primary business activities carried out by the companies located within the PFTZ.

Table 2 Phoenix Foreign Trade Zone Key Sectors and Business Activities61
Sector Business Activities
Aerospace Manufacturing
Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing
Food Manufacturing
Electronics Manufacturing

Business Inputs

Raw Materials

Raw materials may be imported to the PFTZ with deferral of customs duties. In addition, if such raw materials carry a higher duty rate than a finished product, manufacturing or assembly operations within the PFTZ can secure application of a lower duty rate applicable to the finished products.
Arizona has abundant mineral resources including, but not limited to, copper, gold, silver, coal, molybdenum, and lead.62

Labour

The PFTZ has access to rapidly growing Phoenix employment base of more than 1.7 million people. University of Phoenix and Arizona State University ensure a steady influx of skilled labour63 in the local economy.

Investors

Deloitte was not able to obtain reliable information on the geographical origin of foreign investors that have established a presence in the PFTZ.


55 Page 3, ForeignTrade Zone No. 75 - City of Phoenix, Arizona Grantee - Zone Schedule, March 1, 2008.
56 Ibid.
57 http://phoenix.gov/BUSINESS/mrktinfr.html, July 21, 2008.
58 Ibid.
59 Ibid.
60 Ibid.
61 Page 2, ForeignTrade Zone Program and the City of Phoenix, June 2008.
62 http://phoenix.gov/BUSINESS/mrktinfr.html, July 31, 2008.
63 http://phoenix.gov/ECONDEV/mrktoveremplygrowth.html, July 21, 2008.