Basic HTML Version
IT’S ATREND
that goes by many names:
near-shoring, on-shoring or re-shoring, to
name a few. It could be a case of corporate
karma, or just an example of howmuch
difference a decade makes. Manufacturing
operations that once migrated to the Pacific
Rim, Asia, Europe and other locations are
coming back to the United States, or are
being created here.
Already, the auto industry is seeing a
rebound in manufacturing. And not just
from the Big Three in states like Michigan
and Ohio, but across the U.S. from off-
shore companies such as Nissan, Toyota,
Honda, Hyundai and even Mercedes-
Benz. States like Kentucky, Alabama,
Indiana, West Virginia and Georgia
are now home to major automotive
manufacturing operations.
Kentucky, which has been producing
cars for almost a century, “today ranks
third-highest in auto-industry-related
employment as a percent of total state
employment among the topmotor-vehicle-
producing states in the U.S.,” says Larry
Hayes, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for
Economic Development. “Over the past two
years alone, Kentucky’smotor-vehicle-related
facilities have announced over $2.1 billion of
new investment andmore than 10,700 new
full-time jobs,” Hayes boasts. “This accounts
for over 43 percent of the total investment
generated andmore than 38 percent of the
total new full-time jobs announced in the
Commonwealth during that same time
period. Based on these numbers, it is easy to
see howmuch of an impact the automotive
sector has onKentucky’s economy and the
employment base.”
Meanwhile, West Virginia is moving into
manufacturing’s fast lane. “West Virginia
offers a number of unique benefits for the
manufacturing industry. The state’s central
location in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic
means that companies can reach half the
U.S. population and a third of Canada’s
population overnight,” says West Virginia
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. “We also
have the advantage of being an energy-
producing state,” Tomblin adds. “Lower
energy costs have a positive impact on
the bo om line for manufacturers. In
Invest in the U.S.
//
Manufacturing
S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E A T U R E
Ford Motor Co. is currently ramping up operations at
Kentucky’s Ford Louisville Assembly Plant, which will employ
approximately 4,500 workers on three crews.
Reclaiming the
High Ground
U.S. MANUFACTURING POISED FOR A RENAISSANCE