Foreign Trade Zone Statistics and Facts (2026)

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ShipLilly Foreign Trade Zone

If you write about trade, logistics, or economic development, you have probably hunted for a solid number on foreign trade zones and struggled to find one worth citing. This roundup gathers 59 foreign trade zone statistics from the FTZ Board, Congress, GAO, and OECD, grouped by theme so you can jump straight to what you need to know. 

Key Foreign Trade Zone Statistics at a Glance

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Size and Scale of the U.S. Program

These figures come from the FTZ Board’s most recent report to Congress, covering calendar year 2024.

  • U.S. foreign-trade zones took in $963.8 billion in merchandise in 2024, compared to $948.8 billion in 2023. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Of the 260 approved U.S. foreign-trade zones approved in the U.S., 199 had at least one active site or subzone in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • In 2024, roughly 543,000 people worked at about 1,300 active FTZ operations. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • The U.S. had 381 active FTZ production operations in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Facilities operating under FTZ procedures shipped $133.5 billion in exports in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025) Why it matters: the export figure is based on material inputs and leaves out value added.
  • The FTZ Board received and docketed 62 requests and issued 63 decisions in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Trends Over Time

Long-run data from the FTZ Board shows how zone volume, exports, and jobs have moved since 2000.

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Production vs. Warehouse Activity

Zones serve two main kinds of users: production operations and warehouse and distribution operations. Production accounts for most merchandise and most jobs. 

  • Production operations accounted for 61% of zone activity in 2024, receiving $589.8 billion in merchandise. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Warehouse and distribution operations received $374.0 billion in merchandise in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • About 67% of merchandise shipped into U.S. FTZs in 2024 had domestic status. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025) Why it matters: zone activity leans on domestic inputs, not only imports.
  • Domestic-status inputs made up 80% of merchandise at FTZ production operations and 46% at warehouse and distribution operations in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Production operations shipped $83.3 billion in FTZ exports in 2024, compared with $50.3 billion from warehouse and distribution operations. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Based on 2024 data, approximately 82% of the 543,000 U.S. jobs associated with FTZs were directly tied to production, according to a Kroll analysis. (Site Selection, 2026)

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Top Products and Industries

The FTZ Board tracks the foreign-status goods each type of operation receives. The totals show which industries rely most on zones.

  • Consumer electronics were the largest foreign-status product received by FTZ warehouse and distribution operators in 2024, at $55.189 billion. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Warehouse and distribution operators received $35.261 billion in foreign-status vehicles in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Warehouse and distribution operators received $30.124 billion in foreign-status electrical machinery and equipment in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Vehicle parts were the top foreign-status product for FTZ production operators in 2024, at $22.836 billion. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • FTZ production operators received $20.083 billion in foreign-status crude oil in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • FTZ production operators received $20.1 billion in foreign-status pharmaceutical products in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • Oil and petroleum made up 25% of foreign-status goods in U.S. FTZs in 2018, and vehicles and related parts made up 17%. (Congressional Research Service, 2020)

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Top States and Zones

Texas, Louisiana, and South Carolina dominate the rankings for volume and exports.

  • Texas ranked first among U.S. states for both FTZ merchandise received and FTZ exports in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • California ranked second and Louisiana third among states for FTZ merchandise received in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • FTZ 22 in Chicago, Illinois, ranked first among warehouse and distribution zones for merchandise received in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • FTZ 21 in Dorchester County, South Carolina, ranked first among warehouse and distribution zones for exports in 2024. (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025)
  • FTZ 124, based at the Port of South Louisiana, ranked No. 1 in Site Selection’s 2026 FTZ rankings, which use 2024 data. (Site Selection, 2026)
  • FTZ 124 also ranked first in Site Selection’s 2024 rankings, receiving more than $50 billion in merchandise received in 2023. (Site Selection, 2024)
  • FTZ 38 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina received more than $25 billion in merchandise in 2023, largely driven by BMW. (Site Selection, 2024)

Foreign Trade Zone Facts: History and How Zones Work

The program dates to the 1930s. Congress and the FTZ Board have reshaped its rules several times since.

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Benefits and the Tariff Environment

Users name duty deferral as the program’s top benefit. Recent tariff changes have pushed more companies to look into zones.

  • In a NAFTZ year-end survey, 72% of FTZ users named duty deferral as a core program benefit, and 51% cited duty savings. (Site Selection, 2026)
  • Nearly 49% of private-sector FTZ users and operators responding to the NAFTZ survey reported increased zone activity in 2025. (Site Selection, 2026)
  • More than 80% of grantee respondents, the local organizations that hold zone grants, expect FTZ applications and zone activity to rise in 2026. (Site Selection, 2026)
  • From April 9, 2025, goods covered by the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs had to be placed in privileged foreign status when admitted to an FTZ, which locked in the tariff rate at admission. (Logistics Management, 2025)

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics: Share of U.S. Trade and Oversight

Federal reviews and trade analysis measure how much U.S. trade moves through zones.

Global Free Trade Zone Statistics

Free trade zones now operate in more than 130 economies. They generate significant trade and employment, but OED research also links them to counterfeit trade.

  • Since 1975, free trade zones have expanded from 79 zones in 25 economies in 1975 to more than 3,500 zones in 130 economies. (OECD and EUIPO, 2018)
  • Free trade zones collectively employed 66 million workers as of the 2018 OECD report, which drew on International Labour Organization figures. (OECD and EUIPO, 2018)
  • Free trade zones generated over USD $500 billion in direct trade-related value added, based on International Labour Organization figures. (OECD and EUIPO, 2018)
  • Each additional free trade zone in an economy is associated with a 5.9% average increase in the value of its counterfeit and pirated exports. (OECD and EUIPO, 2018)
  • Counterfeit and pirated goods trade was worth $509 billion in 2016, equal to 3.3% of global trade. (Global Financial Integrity, citing OECD data, 2016)
  • Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone recorded $190 billion in trade in the 12 months leading up to its 40th anniversary in May 2025, up 15% year on year. (DP World, 2025)
  • Jebel Ali Free Zone hosts more than 11,000 businesses, up from 19 companies when it was established in 1985. (DP World, 2025)
  • Jebel Ali Free Zone has attracted more than $30 billion in foreign direct investment over the past 20 years. (DP World, 2025)

Methodology and Sources

Statistics were selected from primary sources first, mainly the FTZ Board, Congressional Research Service, GAO, and OECD. Each figure was checked against the original page or report before inclusion, and figures are reproduced as published, with some rounded for readability.

  1. U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board. “86th Annual Report of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to the Congress of the United States” (2024 operations). 2025. https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2025-12/AR-2024%20%28002%29.pdf
  2. U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board. “Foreign-Trade Zones Annual Report” archive (2000 to 2024). 2024. https://www.trade.gov/annual-report
  3. Congressional Research Service. “U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) Program,” IF11348. Updated February 2020. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11348
  4. U.S. Government Accountability Office. “Foreign Trade Zones: CBP Should Strengthen Its Ability to Assess and Respond to Compliance Risks across the Program,” GAO-17-649. 2017. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-17-649
  5. National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones. “Milestones.” Accessed 2026. https://www.naftz.org/milestones/
  6. Site Selection. “U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone Rankings: Top Zones Help Hedge Risk, Move Goods.” May 4, 2026. https://siteselection.com/u-s-foreign-trade-zone-rankings-top-zones-help-hedge-risk-move-goods/
  7. Site Selection. “2024 Top Free Trade Zones.” November 1, 2024. https://siteselection.com/u-s-foreign-trade-zone-activity-in-gulf-states-leads-to-a-record-breaking-year/
  8. Logistics Management. “U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones in 2025: How New Tariffs and Proclamations Are Changing the Playbook.” October 1, 2025. https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/u.s_foreign_trade_zones_in_2025_how_new_tariffs_and_proclamations_are_changing_the_playbook
  9. OECD and EUIPO. “Trade in Counterfeit Goods and Free Trade Zones: Evidence from Recent Trends.” 2018. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2018/03/trade-in-counterfeit-goods-and-free-trade-zones_g1g893a6/9789264289550-en.pdf
  10. Global Financial Integrity. “Free Trade Zones.” Accessed 2026. https://gfintegrity.org/issue/free-trade-zones/
  11. DP World. “JAFZA Turns 40 with Record $190bn in Trade.” May 6, 2025. https://www.dpworld.com/en/news/jafza-turns-40-with-record-190bn-in-trade

Foreign Trade Zone Statistics FAQs

How many foreign trade zones are in the U.S.?

The FTZ Board reported 260 approved zones in 2024, of which 199 were active (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025). Those active zones supported about 1,300 active FTZ operations and nearly 543,000 jobs.

Do foreign trade zones avoid tariffs?

Zones don’t exempt goods from tariffs. They let companies defer duties until goods enter U.S. commerce. Goods exported directly from a zone never owe U.S. duties. (Congressional Research Service, 2020). Under the April 2025 reciprocal tariffs, covered goods also had to enter in privileged foreign status, which locked in the tariff rate at admission (Logistics Management, 2025).

Can you manufacture in a foreign trade zone?

Yes. Congress amended the FTZ Act in 1950 to permit manufacturing (Congressional Research Service, 2020). In 2024, the U.S. had 381 active FTZ production operations, which received $589.8 billion in merchandise (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025).

Who is responsible for foreign trade zone compliance?

The FTZ Board, chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, oversees the program. CBP advises the Board and enforces regulations, including protecting and collecting tariff revenue (Congressional Research Service, 2020).

How much does a foreign trade zone cost?

No single national cost figure is published. The Congressional Research Service notes that the application process can add administrative costs that affect how accessible zones are (Congressional Research Service, 2020). After approval, zone operators must also maintain the inventory control and recordkeeping CBP requires (Logistics Management, 2025). 

Are foreign trade zones good for the economy?

Zones supported nearly 543,000 jobs and $133.5 billion in exports in 2024 (FTZ Board Annual Report, 2025). The Congressional Research Service notes that a 2017 GAO report found few quantitative studies of the program’s overall economic impact (Congressional Research Service, 2020).

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