A report from Ball State University grades the 50 states in several areas of the economy that underlie the success of manufacturing and logistics. The 2011 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card, prepared by the university's Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), reviews manufacturing and logistics health, human capital, cost of benefits, global position and diversification of industries, state-level productivity and innovation, tax climate and venture capital activities. The report is available here.

CBER Director Michael Hicks says U.S. manufacturing is clearly rebounding from the recession, but the effects of the rebound are highly varied. Manufacturing production will almost certainly have a record year in 2011 and again 2012, but employment nationwide will be highly varied across states.

"Some states, such as Indiana [where Ball State is located], have seen a real turnaround in manufacturing employment since the end of the recession (up 4.6 percent), while the nation as a whole has seen one in 50 manufacturing jobs lost," Hicks says. "Prior to the recession, business location and expansion decisions were almost wholly driven by the availability of skilled workers.

"Today, that is far less a short-term consideration, and tax rates and
concern about future tax increases due to high pension costs and other factors dominate business decisions to relocate. So, states that emerge from this recession with a solid fiscal climate will tend to outperform those with uncertain balance sheets."
A state-by-state breakdown may be found here.

Source: Ball State University