The Alabama Advantage

Alabama is at the geographic heart of the nation’s fastest-growing region – the Southeastern United States. This puts Alabama in the center of the fourth-largest economy in the world.  Following are just a few more facts about Alabama’s pro-business climate that have made so many global companies call Alabama home:

Cost of Doing Business

Nationally among the lowest electricity costs per kilowatt-hour rate for industrial sector users.

Attractive Tax Incentives

Tax Credits

  • Capital Investment
  • Alabama Enterprise Zone
  • Employer Education

Abatements

  • Property Tax
  • Sales and Use Tax

Grants

  • Industrial Development

Available Property Statewide

  • Over 500 industrial and commercial buildings for sale or lease – Available square footage ranges from 1,500 to 1 million.
  • Nearly 600 prepared industrial parks, greenfield sites and reusable properties – Available acreage ranges from 5 to 5000.

One-stop Environmental Permitting

  • The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has authority to issue the permits required by all major federal environmental laws.  Therefore, Alabama can offer “one-stop” permitting.
  • Complex air and water permits are usually issued by ADEM within 60 days.
  • Construction storm water permits are regularly issued within two or three days.
  • Even PSD (prevention of significant deterioration) analyses for major air permits can be completed in 120 days in many cases.

Low Tax Burden

  • Alabama has the lowest property taxes in the United States.
  • Alabama has one of the lowest overall corporate income tax burdens in the United States.
  • Alabama is one of only a few states to allow federal income tax paid or accrued to be deducted from state income tax. 

Workforce Advantages

  • AIDT, the state's work force training program, was ranked 2nd in the U.S. in a 2007 Expansion Management site consultant survey.
  • AIDT provides a total work force management system, at no cost to the employers or trainees.
  • Alabama is a right-to-work state.

AIDT, the only program of its kind in the nation, has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification by the International Organization for Standardization.

Alabama has an available workforce

  • 40,000 completed applications for 1,600 jobs at Mercedes II (expansion)
  • 29,000 completed applications for 2,500 jobs at Boeing
  • 16,500 completed applications for 2,000 jobs at Honda II (expansion)
  • 9,700 completed applications for 600 jobs at International Diesel
  • 20,000 completed applications for 2,000 jobs at Hyundai

Transportation Advantages

Located in the heart of the South with over 96 million people within 600 miles of the center of the state, Alabama offers an efficient and comprehensive transportation system. Alabama lies at the crossroads of the Sunbelt.  Five interstate highways converge in Alabama and a sixth interstate is near completion.  The interstates are part of a network of over 74,000 miles (119,091 km) of paved public roads in Alabama.

Alabama offers: Five interstate highways

  • I-10 (FL to CA)
  • I-20 (SC to TX)
  • I-59 (TN to LA)
  • I-65 (AL to IL)
  • I-85 (AL to VA)
  • Future I-22 (AL-TN)

Seven commercial airports

Alabama is served by six major commercial airlines and seven commuter airlines. International flights are easily accessible via direct flights from major connecting cities. Alabama has 89 public use airports.

Five Class I railroads

Numerous inland docks

A full-service, deepwater international seaport

One of the largest inland waterway systems in the nation

Alabama has approximately 1,300 miles (2,092 km) of navigable inland waterways along six corridors.  These commercially navigable systems connect to 15,000 miles (24,140 km) of inland waterways in 23 states via the Tennessee-Tombigbee and Gulf intracoastal water systems. 

Foreign Trade Zones

Five Alabama cities - Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery - have foreign trade zones with direct access to their air transportation system. Each foreign trade zone has been designated for the promotion of international commerce through the duty-free, quota-free entry of foreign goods under U.S. Customs supervision.

Call us at 1-800-718-2726 or send us an e-mail today to start learn more about amazing Alabama.