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Business
Study Ranks Cape High
By Scott Moyers
~ Southeast Missourian
Of course it's cheaper to operate a business in Cape Girardeau than
Chicago or St. Louis. But it might be news to some that it's also less
expensive to do business here than nearly any other city in the
Midwest.
That fact might be of special interest to a business
owner trying to decide where to build or relocate a business.
A recently released study of business costs in 86
cities across nine industrial countries ranks Cape Girardeau sixth in
North America's Midwest, which includes Canada.
If Canada is removed from the equation, Cape
Girardeau is second in the U.S. Midwest, behind only Sioux Falls, S.D.
"I think it's pretty impressive the way our
area stacks up," said Mitch Robinson, head of the Cape
Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association.
The study, called "Competitive
Alternatives," was conducted by KPMG, one of the world's largest
accounting and consulting firms.
Robinson said the Regional Developers Association of
the Missouri Bootheel and his group paid $8,000 in state economic
development funds to participate in the study, which looked at the
cost of labor, taxes, transportation, energy, property and
construction.
The 10-month research program included analyzing
more than 1,000 individual business scenarios, examining more than
30,000 items of data. The scenarios and data were based
on projected after-tax startup costs and operation for 12 specific
types of business, over a 10-year time period.
Robinson said that the study will be an excellent
recruitment tool to show business owners who are considering Southeast
Missouri for expansion or new industry.
"That was the main point of doing it," he
said. "It shows us how we stack up with other parts of the world,
not just this country or the Midwest. Granted, a lot of times we won't
be going up against Grenoble, France, or Vienna, Austria, but it gives
someone the flavor of the cost advantages our community has."
Robinson said the fact that the group paid to be
included in the study does not hurt the credibility of the findings.
"Not in my opinion it doesn't," he said.
"KPMG is a very reputable firm and people spend money all the
time to determine standings. They've been doing this for several
years."
KPMG operates with more than 100,000 professionals
including 7,000 partners in 760 cities worldwide. Total revenues in
159 countries were $12.2 billion in 1999.
Stuart McKay, founder and author of the study, said
Cape Girardeau did well.
"It's good news," he said. "You're
nick and tuck with Sioux Falls and were significantly better than some
of the others."
McKay said it's a good idea for smaller communities
to "think globally," and that it is not unreasonable to make
comparisons with larger cities.
"Global trends affect every community in the
world," he said. "Companies are more and more willing to
look further and further afield."
Cheaper in Canada
On a more worldly scope, Canada was found to be the cheapest place to
do business, while Germany and Japan are the most expensive. The
United States ranked seventh on the list of least expensive countries,
down from third place in 1999.
The United States' cost competitiveness has declined
because the strength of the dollar relative to European currencies and
relatively higher salaries for technical and professional jobs.
Among large cities, the study says that cheapest
cities to do business are Montreal, followed by Toronto. The most
expensive cities are Yokohama, Japan, followed by New York City and
San Jose, Calif., which both tied for second.
Scott Moyers can be contacted at:
smoyers@semissourian.com
573-335-6611, extension 137
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