Study finds Lewiston in the top six nationally for competitive business costs.
An international study that examines business costs puts Lewiston among the top tier of cities most attractive to business.
KPMG, an international audit, tax and advisory firm, compared 44 U.S. cities and their associated costs of doing business. Lewiston ranked sixth in competitiveness with a score of 97.6; a score of 100 represents the average cost of doing business in the United States, meaning it’s cheaper for certain businesses to come here than other parts of the country.
“From my perspective, it’s a great thing to be recognized that way,” said Chip Morrison, director of the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It may lead to some companies saying ‘Hey, let’s give them a call and see what opportunities are there.'”
Stuart MacKay, the author of the study entitled “Competitive Alternatives,” said Lewiston was especially competitive in its cost of land and labor. The study compared things such as taxes, utility costs, land/building costs and wages. The comparisons were performed for manufacturing, software, research and development, and corporate services industries. It analyzed after-tax costs and 10-year operational costs.
Lewiston scored an impressive 91.4 for research and development costs, nearly 9 percentage points in cost below the U.S. average. It also scored 95.4 in the software industry. The city performed equally as well in the corporate services category, which includes customer service and call center operations. It rated a 92.9, nearly 7 percentage points in cost under the U.S. average. In the manufacturing sector, the city rated a 99.3, marginally less expensive than the national average.
Lewiston was selected for the study to add balance, said MacKay. The full study compared 121 cities in 11 countries and the survey designers wanted more smaller U.S. cities to add balance to the sample. They also wanted a smaller city that wasn’t too urban, said MacKay. Lewiston did not pay to be included in the study, said MacKay.
That’s significant, said Paul Badeau, director of marketing for the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council. He said business comparison studies are often skewed to favor the communities that commission them.
“People talk about the high cost of doing business in Maine,” said Badeau. “It’s nice to know from an objective third party that the cost of doing business in Lewiston is less than the U.S. average.”
Badeau plans to include the ranking in his marketing materials for the area.
Lewiston has been included in the biannual study since 1997. In 2002, it rated a 98.2, indicating the city has enhanced its competitiveness in the past two years. The five cities that bested Lewiston in the survey were Dothan, Ala., Greenville, S.C., Jackson, Miss., Nashville, Tenn., and Lexington, Ky. Sioux City, S.D., tied with Lewiston for sixth place.
KPMG publishes the results to help clients choose suitable locations for their businesses. On a global scale, the study shows Australia and Canada as the best places to start a new business. Germany and Japan were rated the most expensive. The United States, seventh of 11 in the rankings, had the greatest improvement in cost-competitiveness since 2002 of any of the countries in the study, owing largely to a weak dollar against a strong Euro.
The full report can be viewed at www.competitivealternatives.com.
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