Eight states earn As from national Manufacturing and Logistics Report

Ball State University study looks at array for factors to determine health of sector

By Bob Vavra, Content Manager, CFE Media June 20, 2013

Only eight states received a grade of ‘A’ for the health of their manufacturing industry in the 2013 Manufacturing and Logistics Report, produced at Ball State University and sponsored by Conexus Indiana.

15 states overall received above an average grade in the annual report, which looks at three factors in determining the health of the states manufacturing:

  • The share of total income earned by manufacturing employees in each state;
  • The wage premium paid to manufacturing workers relative to similar employees in other states;
  • The share of manufacturing employment per capita.

Despite the surge in manufacturing in the southeast and Gulf Coast in the last few years, only South Carolina received an ‘A’ in that region. Most of the top grades went to traditional Rust Belt states, as Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio earned As. The other two states to earn the top grade were Kansas and Oregon.

Three growth states in the South—Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi—joined Minnesota, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont in earning Bs in the report. Ten states, including Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Maryland, earned either a D or a D+ for manufacturing health, while five states—New York, New Mexico, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii—received failing grades.

Among the factors considered ion the overall grades were tax climate, productivity and innovation, and human capital. Only Indiana earned an A in both overall health and tax climate, while five states—Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island—received failing grades.

In productivity, California, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington earned As. Washington also earned an A in human capital, along with New Hampshire, Utah and Iowa. That category measured, among other factors, graduation rates from high school, community colleges and universities and adult education enrollment.

The full report with all charts and data can be found here.