Reports: Missouri No. 1 for manufacturing, logistics

In addition to landing the top ranking, the Show-Me State was one of six states to earn an “A,” according to the 2008 National Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card issued by the Muncie, Ind.-based university. Missouri earned high marks for research and development efforts as well as relatively low long-term health care costs and health insurance premiums. Corporate and property taxes also are lower in Missouri than most states, according to the report card.

“I was surprised that Missouri did so well, and I think that reflected more my lack of knowledge about the particular characteristics of Missouri’s tax climate,” said Michael Hicks, an associate economics professor who also serves as director of Ball State’s Bureau of Business Research.

Utah, Florida, Alabama and North Dakota rounded out the five best states in the country for manufacturing and logistics. New York, Kentucky, New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and West Virginia all received failing grades, with West Virginia ranking dead last, according to the report card.

States were graded on 20 categories, including property taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance, corporate taxes, crime and percentage of the population with college degrees, according to a Ball State news release.

Last year was a record year for American manufacturers with inflation-adjusted values higher than in any previous year, according to the 2008 State of the Industry Report issued by Ball State. Nationally, growth in the production of goods continues to be robust, and even as the U.S. economy began slowing in the final quarter of 2007, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent, the report found.

“If you’re Missouri, what you’re probably poised for is a fairly long period of growth in the manufacturing sector,” Hicks said.

Conexus Indiana, an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit organization that promotes growth in the manufacturing and logistics sector, sponsored the Ball State reports, Hicks said.

Visit www.bsu.edu/bbr and click on the “Current Studies and Publications” link to read the study or view the report card.