A Few Facts and Figures About the Natural State         A recent national study in Governing reported that Arkansas ranks 11th among the 50 states in energy costs, tax rates and labor costs.         Arkansas has a high percentage of workers employed in manufacturing: 21.9 percent, compared to 14.1 percent nationally. Yet the business and health services sectors grew by more than 40 percent during the 1990s. Per capita income grew in Arkansas in 2001 at the healthy clip of 4.2 percent.         The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Jacksonville MSA is the largest in the state, with more than 583,000 residents. But an interstate MSA is larger: the Memphis, Tennessee-Arkansas-Mississippi MSA boasts a population of 1.1 million.         Ten cities in the state have public river terminals, including Osceola, West Memphis, Helena and McGehee on the Mississippi River.

Food Production Cooks
Up Other Growth

For the proverbial and hypothetical "super project", a recent study by Location Advisory Services found Arkansas lacking in comparison to its Southern brethren. But the state competes quite well in the medium-sized project arena; it offers operating costs that are among the nation's lowest, bolstered by low property taxes and attractive job-training programs.
        The booming food products industry in the state has helped a host of other support industries. Alcan Thermplate, a manufacturer of plastic trays, which are then sold to the food processing and retail industry, has announced an expansion of its Russellville operations. Dr. Morris points to locations by Chicago-based Newlywed Foods and the large operation owned by Bush Canning Co. He says Jonesboro will see dramatic growth as a result of the Nestle move and that the next community ripe for such picking may be Blytheville, which he calls "way underdeveloped."
        Morris points out that the freight, trucking and storage industries have prospered in Arkansas, especially in the Northwest quadrant. Networks Logistics, a Phoenix-based freight distributor, recently announced a new distribution warehouse facility in Jacksonville, located 15 miles from Little Rock. The area is located near the main intersections of Interstates I-30 and I-40.
        "All the people need warehousing and cold storage, particularly for entrees and frozen foods," observes Morris. "It attracts the suppliers, and when the suppliers get here, it's easy for another industry to come in and locate."
        Little Rock has always been a prime location for warehouse and distribution facilities, as the city sits at the intersection of two main U.S. Interstates, I-30 and I-40. But the state capital has also seen a growth in service businesses, most recently demonstrated by the arrival of Houston-based GC Services, a collections and teleservices firm which will employ 400 people by summer's end.

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