< Previous96 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION We conducted a thought experiment paired with some initial real-world data since tariffs took effect: To what extent will infrastructure readiness and tariff resilience shape site selection decisions? To that end, we’re exploring state-level infrastructure rankings and reconsidering the business case for foreign-trade zones (FTZs) as potential tariff safe havens. Finally, we examine emerging FDI data to see where manufacturing investments are actually being made. Where Is Infrastructure the Most Investment-Ready? Even as manufacturers consider reshoring, the supporting infrastructure isn’t always in place. Site decisions hinge on many factors like affordable power, workforce access, and shovel-ready land — but freight infrastructure is especially critical. The decision to reshore may be national, but investment decisions are deeply regional, local and site-specific. The infrastructure report cards from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) offer one bird’s-eye view of the landscape. Overall, they rank U.S. infrastructure with a C, but rankings vary by infrastructure type. Ports lead with a B, but roads and aviation scrape by with D+ grades, and even rail — vital for freight — only earns a B-. These gaps could present hard limits for any manufacturing boom. Infrastructure varies from state to state, however. From an overall perspective, a few states stand out in having the best (C+) overall infrastructure: Georgia, Wisconsin, and Utah. But ASCE also generates ranks for specific types of infrastructure that manufacturing site selectors will care about. From a rail-specific perspective, we see again at the top of the list Georgia, but now also Alabama; Mississippi; Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; and Ohio, with all these jurisdictions earning Bs. Manufacturing also heavily relies on road networks to move inputs and outputs. From a road and trucking perspective, Utah again stands out with a B+, while Iowa and North Dakota earn Bs and Georgia and Vermont earn C+s. Finally, let’s consider energy infrastructure, which is essential for manufacturing. Georgia and Alabama again stand out with Bs, followed by Nevada, Idaho, and Kentucky with B-s. When considering energy, rail, roads, and overall rankings, we can see some potential investment regional hotspots in the South (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas) and in the Midwest (Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky). Tariff Resilience Tariff scenario planning complicates decision- making a bit more. Even for companies reshoring production, their U.S. operations may only be one node in a global supply chain. This is particularly true for supply chains that have (up until now, at least) been seamlessly The Indianapolis International Airport (IND), a crucial element in the state’s infrastructure for business, set an all-time new record on Memorial Day 2025 with 23,473 passengers. Data source: ASCE Infrastructure Report Card ASCE Overall Infrastructure Grades C C C C C C C C C+ C+ C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- C- D+ D+ D C+ C C C C C C C C C B+ B B- C+ C- C- D+ D Overall Infrastructure Grades98 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION transnational between the U.S. and Canada. Take, for example, automotive manufacturing, where integrated supply chains cross the U.S.-Canada border repeatedly. In these contexts, tariff exposure isn’t just a one-time cost — it’s a compounding risk with every transaction. Many companies are still assessing whether tariffs are here to stay, but many are hoping to limit exposure to any future tariff risks. To that end, companies are giving new consideration to the U.S.’s 200 active Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs), which can allow firms to defer, reduce or eliminate duties on imported materials assembled in the U.S. and re- exported or distributed domestically. It may come as no surprise that Congress created the Foreign-Trade Zones in 1934 as a means of mitigating the effects of the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs in 1930. In today’s high-tariff or tariff-uncertain scenario, FTZs may play a larger role as a magnet for investments. FTZs can offer shelter warehouses for excess merchandise, and they host many manufacturing operations across sectors. Especially for firms whose supply chains seamlessly cross U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada, FTZ sites have the potential to generate huge gravity for U.S.-based investments. Integrated binational supply chains might not go away — they might just evolve. Site Selection every November performs calculations to arrive at a ranking of top states by FTZ activity as well as top FTZs. In November 2024 that report highlighted the most active FTZ regions in California and the Gulf (Texas, Louisiana, and Florida). It’s also worth noting that FTZ designation does not necessarily mean activity, meaning that many designated FTZs may be underutilized and could have a more compelling business case. If we consider both infrastructure rankings and FTZs we get a more nuanced story about where we might expect investment. Texas and Florida stand out, by far, given their double-digit number of FTZs, but Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio, New York, and California also stand out as potential tariff safe havens. Even before tariffs became an outsized consideration in the site selection industry, Site Selection’s 2024 Global Groundwork Index identified similar investment-ready hotspots (states and metros) by considering actual private-sector corporate project Map courtesy of EBP US Foreign Trade Zones 13 1 2 3 8 2 2 1 4 4 1 3 5 4 3 8 3 2 2 22 2 17 9 6 7 8 1 1 4 9 3 3 2 3 3 7 35 21 5 1 16 3 5 5 4 4 5 Global Groundwork Index TOP METROS 2024 RANK 2025 RANKING METRO 3 1 Columbus, OH 13 2 Lafayette- West Lafayette, IN 4 3 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 14 4 Sioux Falls, SD-MN 1 5 Indianapolis-Carmel- Greenwood, IN 8 5 Syracuse, NY 2 7 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 7 8 Baton Rouge, LA 6 9 Blytheville, AR 92 10 Grand Forks, ND-MN Methodology for Top States and Top Metros: Cumulative and per-capita calculations based on Conway Projects Database projects, project-affiliated job creation and project-affiliated capital expenditure, Jan. 2021 through July 1, 2025. Cumulative and per-capita calculations based on project and funding data from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Maps Dashboard. Retrieved from https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-bil-maps-dashboard)100 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION data with federal investment records, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) spending. The index last year and this year highlights the investment readiness of the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan) and South (Georgia, Louisiana, Texas). Do infrastructure rankings and FTZs match actual investment trends? At a glance, yes. Investment data for 2025 show hotspots in the U.S. South and Midwest, which infrastructure rankings and FTZ data would roughly suggest. These regions benefit from a combination of strategic assets: robust transportation networks, favorable logistics environments and concentrated Foreign-Trade Zones that reduce trade friction and costs. While the presence of FTZs appears to correlate with higher FDI volumes, infrastructure quality often acts as the underlying enabler, supporting both existing manufacturing bases and attracting new investment. However, the relationship is not perfectly Global Groundwork Index TOP COUNTRIES 2024 RANK 2025 RANKING COUNTRY 9 1 Canada 2 2 Australia 3 3 Ireland 1 4 United Kingdom 4 5 Mexico 7 6 Hungary 5 7 Germany 19 8 South Korea 12 9 Spain 8 10 Sweden Methodology: Cumulative and per-capita calculations based on Conway Projects Database projects, Jan. 2021 through July 1, 2025, and cumulative and per-capita calculations based on OECD infrastructure funding data by country retrieved July 2025. SITE SELECTION SEPTEMBER 2025 101 linear. Some states with moderate infrastructure grades have attracted significant FDI, likely due to other factors such as workforce availability and wages, state incentives or proximity to key markets. Conversely, high infrastructure ratings do not always guarantee investment if other conditions are unfavorable. This nuanced dynamic underscores the importance of integrating multiple data layers — FTZ counts, infrastructure rankings, workforce characteristics and economic incentives — to form a comprehensive picture of manufacturing investment patterns. As manufacturers reconfigure their supply chains to hedge against tariffs and geopolitical (and other) risks, the decision to reshore is less about patriotism or incentives, and much more about pragmatism. The most attractive U.S. locations are (and have been) those that offer both strategic tariff mitigation (using FTZs and other tactics) and strong, resilient and well-connected infrastructure (power, telecoms, roads, rail, seaports, etc.). That intersection — between infrastructure quality and resilience from tariffs — is highly uneven across the United States. Places like Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and parts of the Southeast continue to extend their advantages in trade and in foreign direct investment. Even so, the broader picture is even more uneven. If the U.S. is to actually benefit from the aggressive use of tariffs, more regions will need to align infrastructure investment with long-term industrial strategy. That means going beyond ribbon-cuttings and focusing on integrated systems: power and water, rail and roads, ports and workforce pipelines. The federal government has set a course, but that won’t guarantee a positive outcome. The question is whether we are ready to build — literally and strategically — for the next chapter of American manufacturing. FTZs have been a tool that has been around for some time but not used effectively. In the face of tariffs and global supply chains, we now have an effective use case. Will we learn how to use them properly? 102 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION L ook at forecast power demand from the growing queue of data centers, megaplants and other major facility investment projects. en load in the AI prompt “Construct a power generation and transmission system for our new plant, negotiate agreements, submit our project to all permitting and incentives programs, and build relationships with the community,” sit back and watch the wonders unfold. What? Nothing’s happening? e need to make things happen is why the role of the utility economic developer has never been more front and center. Each year, Site Selection recognizes the Top Utilities in economic development based on corporate end-user project activity in their regions, measured by cumulative and per- capita corporate end-user capital investment and project- affi liated job creation data. Information is gathered by the Site Selection research team from an annual questionnaire in addition to our staff ’s research into utilities with active economic development departments. Here, presented in alphabetical order within U.S. regions organized by highest number of Top Utilities, is the Class of , representing best-in-class economic development performance. by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com 2025 TOP UTILITIES Making the Connections Commitments by Amazon Web Services to back up its $10 billion commitment in Mississippi include renewable energy purchase from Entergy and a fi rst-of-its-kind training center called the Amazon Community Workforce Accelerator Madison County. Photo courtesy of AWSNext >