Insights: Top States for Business Climate, Factory Layout
July 2024 warehousing insights
This month’s Insights focuses on top states for new factories, autonomous technology and the latest on manufacturing workforce development.
CNBC: America’s 2024 Top States for Business
CNBC has released a list of America’s top business-friendly states, topped by Virginia. Other top finishers include North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and Tennessee. Michigan rounds out the top ten.
How were the rankings formulated?
CNBC posted its methodology. In brief:
Infrastructure (17%)
Roads, power, air travel, market access and broadband availability. This is likely one of the first filters companies use when they select sites. You cannot operate without transportation in and out, access to your plant, water quality, power and disposal systems. Often, municipalities and states will offer to conditionally build infrastructure near the site. This assumes that a good network exists for all a company’s needs, aside from nearby roads, railways and access.
Workforce (15%)
Over and over, the news over the last decade has been the constriction of skilled labor. These rankings look at a state’s education systems, STEM, math proficiencies, percent of workers with college degrees, and talent attraction capabilities. States’ focus on worker training, right to work laws and productivity weigh into this score.
Economic factors (14%)
Companies are looking for financially stable states with solid economies. CNBC looked at GDP growth, real estate markets, number of corporate headquarters, and other factors. The basis of this score seemed to be that good economic situations are good for a reason. If a state is already successful, it stands to reason that companies will find a good business environment.
Quality of life (13%)
Because the labor market is extremely competitive, it’s easier to attract employees to desirable areas. This is defined in terms of livability, crime rates, environmental quality and healthcare. Childcare factors weigh heavily in this ranking as well.
Cost of doing business (11%)
This entails tax burdens, wage and utility costs, real estate costs, and incentive programs.
Other factors
- Technology and innovation (10%)
- Business friendliness (10%)
- Education (5%)
- Access to capital (3%)
- Cost of living (2%)
Companies looking to operate in any given state depend on a broad array of factors. The science and art of locating a manufacturing plant are different than those for operating an accounting center, after all. The bottom of the list includes Hawaii, Mississippi, Alaska and Louisiana. These factors probably vary industry to industry; a processing facility will locate based on different priorities than a law firm, but many of these factors remain no matter what type of business.
Spanco: Manufacturing Facility Layout
In this post, Spanco discusses the various factors you need to consider when laying out a manufacturing facility. The basics include:
- Layout objectives: How will people and product flow? Will the design contribute to or reduce downtime? Is the design flexible for future needs?
- Design considerations: Is the design space-efficient? Does it take operators’ needs into account? How flexible can you be?
- The basic types of layouts:Â Product layout design, based on assembly lines; process layout design, based on lower-volume tasks; fixed position designs, where elements mostly remain in the same spot throughout production; combination facility layout, where workcells own the entire process with flow between.
- Steps for a effective design planning:Â a guide to steps, from background information collection to alignment confirmation.
Spanco provides many high quality lifting and manipulation products, including cranes and other related equipment.
Also read: Avoid Common Warehouse Layout Mistakes
Fast Company: The heartland is transforming autonomous technology
In this article, Fast Company focuses on the ways America’s heartland is ahead of the pace when it comes to many new technologies. Self-driving cars, drones, and robotics are revolutionizing how we transport, build and deliver products. The article goes on to discuss how innovation has shifted from coastal states to the heartland, including states like Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin and Ohio.
The U.S. is deploying a Tech Hubs program that helps build the infrastructure for these technologies as well as for reshoring and supply chain strength. For instance, Tulsa, Oklahoma has been at the forefront of autonomous efforts with research assets such as the LaunchPad Center for Advanced Air Mobility at Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma Cyber Innovation Institute at the University of Tulsa.
Quick hits
- In Mining the reshoring rush: Targeting government spending, Pharma Manufacturing Magazine outlines efforts to reshore many aspects of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and how recent government incentives affect manufacturers. Government policymakers see reshoring as the simple solution to shortages, but industry experts point out that the issue is much more nuanced than that. It’s critical that America regain some of its sovereignty for critical medications, but the process will take time and must have global aspects for resiliency.
- Harvard Business Review asks this question: If Strategy Is So Important, Why Don’t We Make Time for It? The gist of it is, if strategy is critical, why don’t leaders make time for it? Money quote: “Tethering yourself to your desk may help you power through more emails, but it’s rarely a recipe for innovative strategic thinking.”
- Manufacturing as a sector is focused on labor – or the continuing challenges of cultivating it. In Taking Charge: Manufacturers Support Growth with Active Workforce Strategies (PDF), The Manufacturing Institute lays out the challenges and solutions.
Scott Stone is Cisco-Eagle's Vice President of Marketing with 35 years of experience in material handling, warehousing and industrial operations. His work is published in multiple industry journals an websites on a variety of warehousing topics. He writes about automation, warehousing, safety, manufacturing and other areas of concern for industrial operations and those who operate them.