- Expansion Magazine Ranks Six SC Metro Areas as Tops for Logistics
- South Carolina has Second Highest Showing in Southeast
- Release Date:
- Monday, November 20, 2006
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Contact:
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Rose Dangerfield, SC Department of Commerce
803.737.0402
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Press Release:
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Columbia, SC - Six South Carolina metropolitan statistical areas were ranked by Expansion Magazine as Top Logistics Metros for 2006. South Carolina ranked second highest in the Southeast, behind Florida which had seven ranked metros.
Three South Carolina metropolitan areas received the highest five-star ranking (top 20%): Columbia, Charleston-North Charleston, Charlotte-Rock Hill. Greenville, Spartanburg and Augusta-Aiken received four-star rating (21-40%).
According to Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Magazine, America’s prosperity depends on a strong transportation infrastructure to bring raw materials to factories and deliver finished products to wholesalers, retailers and consumers. “Site selection is really a competition between cities,” King explained. “Metro areas that offer a broad range of logistics-supporting infrastructure – ground, air, water/sea and rail – have a major advantage over their rivals when it comes to attracting and retaining manufacturing and distribution facilities.”
Expansion Magazine has teamed up with Logistics Today for the past six years to produce the annual Logistics Quotient ranking the most logistics-friendly metropolitan areas in the United States. The magazines study and evaluate the overall logistics infrastructure of the nation’s 362 metropolitan statistical areas based on 10 major categories: transportation and warehousing industry; transportation and warehousing workforce; road infrastructure; road congestion; road conditions; interstate highway access; vehicle taxes and fees; railroad access; water port access; and air cargo access.
“Site selection professionals have frequently told us how important a strong transportation infrastructure can be in the decision-making process of where to locate a new business or for an existing business to expand,” said Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor. “South Carolina’s strong network of roads and interstate highways, rail service, general aviation airports and efficient sea ports combined with our close proximity to the nation’s fastest-growing markets make us an ideal choice for manufacturing and distribution businesses looking to expand their market share.”
Five-Star Metropolitan Rankings Breakdown:
Columbia
12th in transportation and warehousing workforce
21st in vehicle taxes and fees
36th in interstate highway access
48th in air cargo access
70th in transportation and warehousing industry
Charleston-North Charleston
17th in transportation and warehousing workforce
21st in vehicle taxes and fees
Charlotte-Rock Hill
26th in air cargo access
34th in railroad access
34th in transportation and warehousing industry
52nd in interstate highways access
Four-Star Metropolitan areas were not ranked.
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