Home to more than 1,400 foreign companies with more than 5,000 locations throughout the state, Michigan has been ranked third in the U.S. for foreign direct investment projects, according to Site Selection. Equally exciting, Detroit was selected as the number one metropolitan area in the same Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) survey.
Detroit received the distinction as a “premier gateway for businesses” from around the world to expand. The Detroit metro area was selected first in FDI projects over the past five years due in part to the automotive industry, led by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). In May 2019, FCA announced an investment of $4.5 billion, which created 6,433 jobs at a new state-of-the-art assembly plant in Detroit and expanded production at five existing Michigan facilities. This generational project represents the largest automotive assembly plant deal in the U.S. in a decade and is the first new automotive assembly plant in Detroit in more than 30 years. So far, more than 4,000 Detroit residents have been hired for FCA’s Detroit Assembly Complex.
Rankings are based on U.S. projects Site Selection Magazine has tracked since 2015 that have had some share of involvement by a foreign-based firm.
“Our mission since 1954 has been to document where companies choose to operate, and why,” said Adam Bruns, Site Selection Managing Editor. “Applying analytics to our proprietary projects database and to other data sets produces results that continue to be meaningful to the location decision-making process of our 45,000 global corporate readers.”
By matching established and diverse industries with foreign companies that have similar goals, Michigan has recorded $11.3 billion in foreign direct investment since 2015 within several key industries, including automotive manufacturers and suppliers.
“These national recognitions reinforce the strength of our business attraction strategies and efforts to foster an environment for job-creating investments,” said Josh Hundt, Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President, Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “Global companies are continuing to realize the competitive advantages that Michigan has to offer: high-tech engineering resources, top-notch research and design, and a highly skilled workforce matched with a low cost of living and low cost of doing business.”
The FDI rankings were made in conjunction with Site Selection’s 2020 Business Climate Ranking, an annual ranking that looks at a survey of corporate executives and site selectors, as well as an index of project counts and other criteria. In the face of a global pandemic, Michigan held onto its spot of number 16 from 2019 to 2020, demonstrating continued confidence in Michigan’s business climate.
Read more at Site Selection Magazine and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.