Tennessee leads the nation in auto manufacturing
Posted by Charles Rash on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 @ 09:51 AM
According to national economic development publication "Business Facilities,"
Tennessee leads the nation in auto manufacturing strength, and industry analysts said they aren’t surprised by that ranking.
In 1997, Nissan started production at another Tennessee plant in Decherd, Tenn.
Having two major plants draws in more suppliers to the area and that can help attract more manufactures and suppliers.
Construction is also underway on Nissan’s manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tenn., which will produce lithium-ion batteries to power the Nissan LEAF zero-emission vehicle. The plant will be capable of producing 200,000 advanced-technology batteries annually and is located adjacent to Nissan’s vehicle assembly plant, where the all-electric Nissan LEAF will be produced beginning in late 2012.
Combined, Nissan LEAF and battery production will create up to 1,300 manufacturing jobs when the plants are operating at full capacity.
In addition to the Volkswagen and Nissan auto assembly plants, more than 860 automotive suppliers, original equipment manufacturers and ancillary manufacturers are located in Tennessee.
This is the second consecutive year that Tennessee has landed the No. 1 spot in the annual ranking.
http://www.nooga.com/13526_tennessee-leads-nation-in-auto-manufacturing/