BIG 4 cities plan 2027 summit with supply-chain groups

The BIG 4 cities said on Oct. 12 in a press release that they will partner with the Supply Chain Federation and CREDA SoCal to present a second annual summit in 2027.

In the Oct. 12 press release, the BIG 4 said Commerce, Industry, Santa Fe Springs and Vernon hold industrial property totaling 250 million square feet, about 25% of L.A. County inventory.

The alliance framed the event as a forum for industrial land, infrastructure and workforce policy.

The partnership links the four-city economic-development group with the Supply Chain Federation, a national advocacy organization for business and labor in goods movement, and CREDA SoCal, formerly NAIOP SoCal, a commercial real-estate association with more than 1,200 members.

“Our four cities sit on a small footprint of Los Angeles County and represent a significant share of its industrial economy,” Brian Saeki, city administrator of Vernon, said in the press release. “We didn't get there by accident. We got there by working together.”

Tim Jemal, chief executive of the Supply Chain Federation and CREDA SoCal, said decisions on land, infrastructure and workforce affect the wider freight network. “No parcel in this network stands alone, and decisions that fail our supply chain will fail the communities that depend on it,” he said in the press release.

The BIG 4 was formed in October 2025 and said it has pursued streamlined permitting, tax incentives, low-interest financing and lower energy costs for businesses. The alliance said about 5,000 businesses in the four cities employ 200,000 people, produce more than $32 billion in annual economic output and contribute more than $283 million in combined tax revenue.

The group said roughly three-quarters of jobs in the four municipalities are in occupations that do not require a four-year degree. That point is central to its pitch that industrial property policy is also a labor-market issue for Southern California.

The first BIG 4 Summit was held in April 2026 at the Clarke Estate in Santa Fe Springs. According to the release, that event examined how environmental mandates affect industrial investment, including discussion of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s WAIRE Program and Indirect Source Rules.

The announcement did not give a date, venue, budget or speaker list for the 2027 summit. It said registration details would be released in the coming months.

Source: press release, GlobeNewswire, Oct. 12