Zone Credited With Retaining Shippers

The Port of Hueneme’s year-old foreign trade zone designation hasn’t increased trade or jobs, but has enabled the seaport to meet its goal of retaining shippers that may have been lured elsewhere, a report released Wednesday shows.

Moreover, with the trade zone seen as another regional economic development tool, the harbor district anticipates boosting its marketing efforts to attract new business in the year ahead.

“It’s another element of what makes the port competitive,” said Kam Quarles, marketing and trade zone services manager. “Without the zone, it may be much more advantageous for those customers to go to other ports. We don’t want to give our customers any reason to leave us.”

Two port clients, BMW of North America and Mazda Motors of America, made use of the trade zone during its inaugural year of operation.

Together, the two companies shipped more than $929 million worth of automobiles through the port, the report shows. The zone allows manufacturers to modify imported goods before paying tariffs on them. In this case, the two importers added about $6.85 million in value to merchandise.

Trade zones can result in lower distribution costs and encourage companies to process products in the country using U. S. workers, which creates jobs.

In 1996, the port plans to aggressively market zone benefits to companies and other regional agencies, Quarles said. For instance, Santa Barbara County has inquired about establishing a sub-zone at its airport.

Steve Kinney, president of the Greater Oxnard Economic Development Corp., describes the trade zone as a “tremendous asset” in luring businesses.

“I can think of probably close to a half-dozen companies that have expressed interest in the foreign trade zone being here,” he said. “It’s not a stand-alone deal closer, but it certainly strengthens the attractiveness of the area.”