Missouri makes Ball State's top states for manufacturing, logistics

For the second year in a row, Missouri has placed among the five best states for manufacturing and logistics, according to an annual report card compiled by Ball State University.

Missouri joins Utah, Indiana, Kansas and Alabama as the best states in the country for those industries while Alaska, Maine, New York, West Virginia and Rhode Island are the worst, according to the 2009 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card.

"This scorecard represents a snapshot of the health of manufacturing and logistics today, but it also offers a road map to state policymakers who are unhappy with the growth of these industries in their states," Michael Hicks, director of the Muncie, Ind.-based university's Center for Business and Economic Research, said in a news release. "We know that the American manufacturing industry is evolving as a result of technology-centered productivity enhancements and investment from international corporations building or expanding facilities to reach the American consumer."

The research team that compiled the report card assigned letter grades to the states in seven categories: manufacturing, logistics, human capital, benefits cost, global reach, productivity and innovation, and tax climate.

Missouri received its highest grade - an A - for its tax climate, according to the report card. Florida, Colorado, Indiana and Montana rounded out the Top 5 states with the best tax climate. To measure each state's tax climate, researchers used data on corporate taxes, income and sales and use taxes, and property and unemployment insurance tax data collected by the Tax Foundation.

The Show-Me State received a B+ for productivity and innovation, a B- for global reach and a B for its logistics industry. The lowest grades were a C+ for the cost of benefits and C grades for human capital and manufacturing.

According to university's 2008 report card - released last July - Missouri was the top state in the country for manufacturing and logistics.

Conexus Indiana, an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit organization that promotes growth in the manufacturing and logistics sector, sponsored the Ball State study.[[In-content Ad]]