Full Results: 2012 Top States for
Doing Business Survey »
OVERALL RANKINGS
2012
1. Texas
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Alabama
5. North Carolina
6. Louisiana
7. Tennessee
8. Indiana
9. Mississippi
10. Oklahoma
2011
1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Alabama
4. South Carolina
5. Indiana
6. Louisiana
7. North Carolina
8. Tennessee
9. Mississippi
10. California
2010
1. Tennessee
2. Texas
3. South Carolina
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Indiana
7. Mississippi
8. North Carolina
9. Virginia
10. Oklahoma
CONSULTANTS COMMENTARY
Alabama's overall business environment, including
its cost of doing business, corporate tax environment,
incentives programs, and cooperative state
government were also cited among the top five by
the responding consultants; and its certified sites
and competitive utility rates placed in the top five
among the states as well.
Alabama's top overall labor ranking is a direct
result of its innovative Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) program, which provides
a comprehensive work force management system
for employers at no cost. Services include
recruiting, screening, and training potential employees;
developing training materials; and delivering
customized training programs. AIDT is also ISO
9001:2008-certified by the International Organization
for Standardization.
"AIDT is one of the nation's best work force development
programs," indicates Steve Sewell, executive
vice president for the Economic Development
Partnership of Alabama. "AIDT has provided training
for tens of thousands of workers for companies such
as Mercedes-Benz, Lockheed Martin, and Austal
shipbuilding."
"Alabama's competitiveness in recruiting is due in
great part to the tremendous success that leading
companies achieve once they locate here," comments
Bill Taylor, president of the Economic
Development Partnership of Alabama. "The
state and the communities work hard to
attract new investment, but everyone
works even harder to support the
companies once they locate."
"Alabama consistently ranks as
a great place to do business
because we have forged unique
partnerships that give the
state advantages," says
Alabama Department of
Commerce Secretary Greg
Canfield. "Not only are we
competing, but in many
cases, we are winning major
projects with worldwide
name recognition. The state
is poised to be third-largest
automotive producer in the
nation and will soon be part of
a major aerospace corridor."
For example, this summer,
Airbus announced it would locate a
$600 million, 1,000-job assembly operation
in Mobile to build the A320 commercial
aircraft. This new facility will place
Airbus in the middle of the Gulf Coast aerospace
cluster.
As for automotive, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and
Hyundai all have assembly plants in Alabama and
announced expansions in 2011. Alabama ranked
fourth in the U.S. for vehicle exports in 2011.
Alabama's deep experience in automotive manufacturing
is one reason Japanese auto parts supplier
TASUS Corporation announced in September it
would build a $19.1 million, 104,000-square-foot
plant at the Florence-Lauderdale Industrial Park.
Alabama is building on its foundation of success
with Accelerate Alabama, a strategic plan that will
recruit new companies for target industries. "A key to
the success of this plan is the participation of K-12,
two-year colleges, and universities," says Taylor. "To
spur innovation, sustain our existing industries, and
create jobs of the future, it is critical to be aligned with
educators at all levels."
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