AllianceTexas, the 27,000-acre business hub in north Fort Worth, handled about $834 million in international trade in 2024, according to a report release Monday by the state comproller’s office.
That’s a roughly 405% increase from 2023, and an over 550% increase from 2016, according to the report.
Alliance has always been ahead of the curve, acting State Comptroller Kelly Hancock said during a small gathering to announce the numbers.
While figures from Alliance developer Hillwood estimated the campus has generated around 66,000 jobs for North Texas, the state’s data indicate the that number is closer to 136,780.
Hancock noted those jobs include businesses outside the AllianceTexas development that support businesses located in the corridor. Without Alliance, those jobs wouldn’t be there, he said.
The nearly 36 year-old port has anchored massive growth in north Fort Worth, attracting hundreds of businesses, thousands of homes, and generating billions of dollars in economic impact for North Texas.
The development includes massive warehouses from Amazon and Walmart, companies on the cutting edge of autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence development, and soon a new 450,000-square-foot film and television production campus from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
Hancock reflected on how the area has changed from ranch land to massive warehouses and homes powering the state’s economy.
“We’re just getting started,” he said.
The development’s location at the intersection of the freeways, railroads, and its airport is unique across the country, said Hillwood chairman Ross Perot Jr. “This is where you want to be,” he said. The development’s location makes it the primary point of entry for the southwestern United States due to rail networks connecting the Port of Houston to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the report said.
Those rail networks also enable Alliance to move roughly half of Texas’s freight tonnage, according to the report.
Alliance also benefits from a good relationship with state and local officials, Perot Jr. said.
“We’re working together to build the region, and if you live here we take that for granted,” he said. “If you go to a lot of cities, and a lot of states, the governor doesn’t pick up the phone.”
Perot Jr. credited President Donald Trump’s push to increase manufacturing capactity as a major opportunity for the development. The key now is make sure state and local officials get a slice of that pie as companies look to locate plants in the United States, he said.
“AllianceTexas continues to transform our region into one of the most dynamic inland ports of entry in the nation,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said in a text message to the Star-Telegram.
“Its network of air, rail, and highway connections attract investment, create high-quality jobs, and strengthen Fort Worth and North Texas’ important position in global commerce,” she said.
