Automotive Industry Site Selection

The Carolinas are an ideal place for automotive industry site selection. As one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, companies are discovering the economic benefits of choosing the Carolinas for their automotive site selection. There are over 5,000 automotive manufacturing plants in the Southern Auto Corridor—beginning in Michigan and ending in the southeastern United States. Additional benefits that make the Carolinas an ideal location for automotive site selection include low unionization and wages, superior transportation infrastructure and affordable industrial land. With so many positive attributes, you can see why more companies are choosing the Carolinas for auto industry site selection.

Duke Energy offers one of the most powerful site selection tools available. For companies involved in automotive industry site selection work, the tool is designed to: Evaluate the demographics, wages, labor pool, transportation system, as well as search for sites, buildings, suppliers, competitors or customers throughout North or South Carolina.

Quality Workforce and Competitive Wages

The Carolinas profited from the presence of the textile industry for many years. As this industry continued to move its operations off shore, many highly-skilled manufacturing employees were left behind. Companies in the process of automotive industry site selection in the Carolinas have a ready pool of talented and affordable workforce.

  • Affordable wages is a significant criteria for automotive industry site selection. The average manufacturing wage in the Carolinas is $13.20 per hour vs. $18.10 per hour nationwide.
  • The Carolinas’ 75-campus Community College System has emerged as one of the largest in the nation and is recognized as the national leader for its support of economic work force development and training. Companies involved in automotive industry site selection should evaluate the assistance available to them through programs such as ISO 9000, Total Quality Management, Team Building, Supervisory Development Training, Statistical Process Control and World Class Concepts.
  • North Carolina and South Carolina have the lowest union membership rates among the fifty states, 3.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Incentives/Tax Advantages

To demonstrate North Carolinas’ commitment to automotive industry site selection, the North Carolina General Assembly made significant enhancements to its existing incentive tools:

  • The Jobs Development Investment Grant, a key incentive tool, was expanded to 25 grants per year, and the cap was raised from $10 to $15 million, extended to 2006.
  • An additional $20 million was secured for the One North Carolina Fund (cash incentives).
  • The wage test was eliminated for Industrial Revenue Bonds.

South Carolina has one of the most attractive tax climates in the Southeast—no state property tax, no local income tax, no inventory tax, no wholesale tax, and no unitary tax on worldwide profits.

Superior Transportation Infrastructure

A sufficient transportation system is critical for automotive industry site selection. The Carolinas are centrally located on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and have a robust transportation network.

  • Four Class I railroads with 37 freight lines operate over 5,500 miles of track throughout the Carolinas.
  • The Carolinas recognize the importance of suitable roadways when being considered for automotive industry site selection. Crisscrossed with 6 major interstates (I-85, I-26, I-77, I-95, I-20 and I-40) and over 140,000 miles of highway, the Carolinas are linked to seaports, businesses and consumers in all directions. Approximately 96 percent of N.C. has access to four-lane highways within 10 minutes.
  • Five deep water ports, specializing in intermodal system terminals with interstate and rail access to markets throughout the U.S., are located in the Carolinas. N.C. was the first port operated inland container staging and storage facility in the nation. S.C. is the fourth largest container port in the U.S.
  • Charleston ranked 30th for tonnage transported across its transportation network (30 Million Short Tons).
  • Seven international airports (Charlotte-Douglas, Piedmont Triad, Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, Greenville-Spartanburg, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach International), along with nine regional airports, provide a global gateway to and from the Carolinas.

Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR)

The Carolinas are home to ICAR, one of the premier automotive, motor sports research and educational facilities in the world. Several research facilities will benefit automotive site selection:

  • Automotive electronics systems laboratory
  • Chassis testing laboratory
  • Tire and wheel testing laboratory
  • High performance computing laboratory—modeling and simulation
  • Acoustic and environmental test facility
  • Fuel economy and alternative fuels laboratory (especially hydrogen)
  • Safety/crashworthiness laboratory
  • Full-scale wind tunnel

Affordable Industrial Land; Availability of a Mega-Site Suitable for Auto Industry Site Selection

  • The mega-site near Richburg, S.C. (pdf, 2.3 MB) has two separate railroad lines and is located next to I-77. The property consists of 1,115 acres. A single owner simplifies the transaction.

Environmental Permitting

For companies that anticipate permitting to be a risk in their automotive industry site selection efforts, the Carolinas have environmental programs to assist companies in moving through the process quickly.

  • Pro-business environment
  • Quick turnaround for most applicants (average 6 weeks)
  • In line with federal standards

Reliable and Affordable Energy

Duke Energy has highly qualified energy experts and site consultants who can assist in any automotive industry site selection project. The service is free and confidential.

Proximity to Major Southeastern Markets

The Carolinas offer a robust business climate and access to diverse markets within 300 miles/500 kilometers of its boarders.

  • Population of more than 40 million people.
  • Growing Southeastern metropolitan centers such as Charlotte (N.C.), Columbia (S.C.), Atlanta (Ga.), Richmond (Va.), and Jacksonville (Fla.).
  • In 2003, the Carolinas issued 117,417 residential building permits, which accounted for 6.2 percent of all permits issued in the U.S. North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia are among the top 10 permit issuing states.
  • The 5-year state population growth is 7 percent in N.C., 6 percent in S.C., 7 percent in Va. and 10 percent in both Ga. and Fla.