F EASIBILITY S TUDY

Automotive Manufacturing Centers in

Fayetteville/Cumberland County, NC

Cumberland County Business Council

800-396-4210
www.ccbusinesscouncil.org

Prepared by Business Facilities Planning Consultants, LLC

Atlanta, GA
 ABLE OF CONTENTS
T
Executive Summary 1

Introduction 3

Overview of Fayetteville 4

Community Features 4

Economic Background 5

Quality of Life 6

Advantages of Fayetteville 7

Overview of US Automotive Parts Manufacturing Industry 7

Why Locate in Fayetteville? 8

Exhibit X 9

Economic Advantages of Living in Fayetteville 10

 XECUTIVE SUMMARY
E
The Fayetteville Metro Area in North Carolina is
an especially attractive location for auto parts and
components manufacturing facilities.
This unique and very desirable opportunity has been docu-
mented by Business Facility Planning Consultants, LLC, a
leading site selection and location strategy consulting firm.
BFPC has conducted an in-depth economic study of the
Fayetteville area. A key objective of the study was to
identify businesses which can benefit from locating in Fay-
etteville.
Automotive manufacturing facilities were selected for
their particular ability to benefit from the special business
and operating conditions in Fayetteville. Reasons for this
recommendation include:
· Selected automotive production plant operating
costs $5.7 million per year below the national aver-
age, a potential savings of 31 percent. This cost is
also significantly less than that in some other locations in
the Southeast.
· An excellent regional market for automotive
parts and components. A large number of OEM as-
sembly and plants are located in and near North Carolina.
Four out of five US/Canadian motor vehicle assembly plants
are within 600 miles of the State. The Southeast is the
nation’s fastest-growing in business, population and pur-
chasing power, which leads to an excellent market for af-
termarket auto parts and supplies.
· Proven success of automotive suppliers in
Cumberland County and a long track record of smooth
operations by existing companies like Kelly-Springfield/
Goodyear, Purolator and TBC.
· Good availability of production personnel,
due to a well-established economic base, excellent local
training facilities, the ability to draw workers from a wide
surrounding area with less industria-lization and people af-
filiated with or retiring from local Army and Air Force fa-
cilities. Local population growth is strong, contributing to
a good flow of new entrants into the workforce. A higher
1
percentage of the Cumberland County population is in a
traditional family household than in some faster-growing
urban areas with a more transient population, suggesting
greater work force stability and commitment to the Fay-
etteville community; this is important to automotive firms
that invest in staff training and thus wish to retain their em-
ployees. The regional population is young, with a median
age of only 32, well below that of the state and nation and
even below that of major university communities such as
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill.
· Highly regarded educational and research in-
stitutions relevant to automotive. Fayetteville Techni-
cal Community College (the state’s third-largest with about
13,000 students) has academic programs applicable to
automotive manufacturing. Local universities such as Fay-
etteville State and UNC-Pembroke have relevant pro-
grams. North Carolina State University (about an hour
away from Fayetteville in Raleigh) has some of the nation’s
best-regarded engineering programs through the post-doc-
toral level and conducts research in areas such as smart
power chips for automotive systems, airbag technology
and materials and other fields.
· Extensive business and public/private organiza-
tions to promote and support automotive business
development activities. North Carolina is a global center
for the auto racing industry, which has generated over $1.5
billion in automotive business activity in research, design,
performance and other areas. The North Carolina
Motorsports Association, chaired by NASCAR legend
Richard Petty, promotes the State for new investment in
this growing field. The US Energy Department has awarded
over $5 million in grants to North Carolina institutions for
R&D in automotive technologies, heavy vehicle technolo-
gies, fuels, and other areas.
· Excellent access and connectivity for people
and materials. Fayetteville, halfway between New York
and Miami, is central to major population and business
centers of the eastern United States. Fayetteville is within
two trucking days of over 70 percent of the US popula-
tion, including parts of the nation with the fastest-growing
demographics, industrial base and purchasing power.
Within 700 miles of Cumberland County are over 150
million consumers and 70 percent of US industry. It has
an enviable transportation and communications infrastruc-
ture with multiple Interstate highways, a local commercial
airport, railroads and over 1,000 trucking companies.
Many local manufacturing facilities are electronically linked
with other corporate facilities, customers and suppliers,
which demonstrates the high quality telecom infrastructure
and connectivity that Fayetteville offers. The US Defense
Department and other demanding local users have justi-
fied development of serious local transportation and com-
munications capacity.
· Readiness for development. Fayetteville has
prepared a choice of industrial parks and sites and has
both new and previously-occupied manufacturing build-
ings ready for quick occupancy. The FAEDC has con-
structed a new 125,000-square foot shell building on a
34-acre site.
· An attractive package of industrial develop-
ment incentives and a very favorable business cli-
mate. North Carolina has won uncountable economic
development accolades including three consecutive years
running designations as the nation’s “Number 1 Business
Climate Ranking” from Site Selection Magazine in 2001,
2002, and 2003. It is a right-to-work state.
· A high quality of life that supports transfer,
recruitment and maintenance of employees. The
Fayetteville area has a size and scale that many people
like—big enough to have a wide range of business, hous-
ing, shopping, entertainment, health care, academic and
other services and amenities, but small enough to have an
approachable local government, modest costs in many
areas, and generally low crime and congestion. The local
cost of living is typically 6 percent to 7 percent below the
US average and as much as 10 percent below some other
metro areas in the region. Within an hour or two are the
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro area, Atlantic Coast
beaches, multiple championship golf courses and other
recreational opportunities. Local schools, cultural facili-
ties and civic organizations have been widely praised.

______________________________________

More about Fayetteville and its advantages for your company is available from the

CUMBERLAND COUNTY BUSINESS COUNCIL

Telephone (800) 396-4210

www.ccbusinesscouncil.org

2
 N TRODUCTION
I
Fayetteville, North Carolina, an attractive metropolitan area
of about one-third of a million people, shows great poten-
tial as a location for automotive-related manufacturing fa-
cilities. Its moderate costs, location within a huge market
for automotive supplies, availability of well qualified em-
ployees at moderate costs and proven success of existing
automotive manufacturers are major assets. Substantial
economic analysis documents the attractiveness of Fay-
etteville for automotive product manufacturing facilities, and
community leadership has selected this business as a key
target for further economic development.
The Fayetteville Area Economic Development Corpora-
tion has retained a site selection firm, Business Facility Plan-
3
ning Consultants, LLC, to investigate this phenomenon and
document the specific reasons why Fayetteville makes good
sense as an automotive production facility location. Fay-
etteville and North Carolina were already well-known for
their strong general business climate and many positive at-
tributes as a place to live and do business, but this study
dug deeper and documented a series of quantifiable ad-
vantages.
This report provides tangible evidence that Fay-
etteville is an especially attractive and successful
location for automotive manufacturing facilities and
related facilities. These compelling reasons are docu-
mented on the following pages.
 VERVIEW OF FAYETTEVILLE
O higher added-value businesses. Its decision 50 years ago
ommunity Features
C north of Fayetteville) showed the world the state’s deter-
Geography. Fayetteville is an attractive, economically
diverse, medium-sized metro area in central North Caro-
lina. With about a third of a million residents, it is the state’s
fourth largest metro area and the largest metro area out-
side the I-40/I-85 corridor that has historically contained
most of North Carolina’s population and development.
Fayetteville is the seat of government of Cumberland
County and the central city of the Fayetteville Metropoli-
tan Statistical Area (MSA) which consists of Cumberland
and Hoke Counties.
Cumberland County’s central North Carolina location is
along the border between two geographic regions, the
Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. This region’s gently roll-
ing hills and year-round mild climate make it a center for
outdoor recreation and other activity such as world-class
golf courses in nearby Pinehurst and Southern Pines which
often host the US Open Championships.
Downtown-to-downtown, Fayetteville is about 140 miles
east of Charlotte, 90 miles northwest of Wilmington and
the Atlantic Ocean and 60 miles south of Raleigh. Dis-
tances between the edges of the respective metro areas
are obviously much less. Interstate Highway 95, one of
the nation’s busiest north-south arteries, neatly bisects
Cumberland County; I-40 crosses I-95 a few miles north
of Cumberland County; and I-20 connects to it in South
Carolina about 85 miles to the southwest. Two new or
greatly expanded Interstate Highways, I-73 and I-74,
were authorized by Congress in 1991 and are planned to
be constructed near Fayetteville.
Business Environment. North Carolina has consistently
been among the nation’s most aggressive and successful
states in its economic development programs. More than
a century ago, it began working hard to move away from
a purely agricultural base, establish a quality business cli-
mate and actively recruit new economic activity. By the
first half of the Twentieth Century, it had become one of
the most industrialized states, initially in relatively basic in-
dustries such as textiles but rapidly moving forward into
4
to establish the Research Triangle Park (about 70 miles
mination to invest in itself for the purpose of advancing
opportunities for its citizens and businesses. That action
was the catalyst for making Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
a world leader in automotives, electronics, biotech and
other advanced technology. North Carolina’s Global Air
Transpark, a dedicated air cargo center and industrial park
in Kinston (two hours east of Fayetteville), is another ex-
ample of the state’s will to promote new industry. In No-
vember, 2003, North Carolina won recognition as the
nation’s “Number 1 Business Climate Ranking” from Site
Selection Magazine for the third consecutive year.
Reflecting this vigorous state effort, some parts of North
Carolina have experienced explosive growth. Both the
Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington MSA’s ranked among
the nation’s fifteen fastest-growing metro areas between
the 1990 and 2000 Censuses. In many respects, such
rapid growth is very desirable, but admittedly it also con-
tributes to some problems such as increased living and
business costs and congestion. So while compliments are
due to parts of the state that grew in the 20-40 percent
range over this decade, there is also a benefit to a more
moderate and steady pace.
The Fayetteville MSA population grew 10.3 percent be-
tween 1990 and 2000, faster than the rate of the largest
MSA located in or partly in North Carolina (Norfolk-Vir-
ginia Beach, which grew 8.8 percent) but more sedately
than some other North Carolina urban areas. The com-
munity has a well-rounded mix of economic activities in-
cluding manufacturing, distribution, offices, health care and
government/ military facilities which have assisted in main-
taining good economic balance and in avoiding major vola-
tility. The wisdom of Fayetteville’s commitment to bal-
anced, diverse growth has been born out by its stable
economy.
Fayetteville thus provides businesses and people the op-
portunity to benefit from North Carolina’s assets by locat-
ing in a growing, well-rounded, medium-sized, lower-cost
urban center, which also has easy access to services and
amenities of larger cities. The Fayetteville metro area is
big enough to offer a wide variety of housing, shopping,
cultural/entertainment, health and other essential services.
At the same time, the State Capitol of Raleigh is about 60
minutes from downtown Fayetteville (in fact the closest
points in each metro area are only about a 15-minute drive
apart). Duke University and its medical facilities are within
an hour and a half drive. Atlantic Ocean beaches are about
90 miles to the east and the highest mountains in the east-
ern US are in Western North Carolina.
conomic Background
E from balloons) into the field. The post grew slowly until
History. Settled in 1739 by Scottish Highlanders coming
up the Cape Fear River to its head of navigation, Fay-
etteville is among many US places named in honor of the
Marquis de Lafayette; however, it is the only one which
the Revolutionary War hero actually visited. The commu-
nity was one of several that served as North Carolina’s
early centers of government and was the location at which
the state legislature chartered the University of North Caro-
lina in 1789 and ratified the US Constitution. The region
grew rapidly as a center of agriculture and industry (de-
spite a huge fire in 1831), including manufacturing facilities
such as the Fayetteville Arsenal, completed in 1839. Trans-
portation also assisted local economic development. The
initial railroad was planned in the early 1830’s and was
intended to provide access to the Cape Fear River at Fay-
etteville from various points in the interior of North Caro-
lina.
Among the noteworthy residents of Fayetteville in the early
1800’s was Omar ibn Said, a native of Senegal who had
been a scholar before being captured, enslaved and trans-
ported to the US at about age 40. He escaped from a
plantation and fled to Fayetteville where he was befriended
by General James Owen. Ibn Said’s knowledge of Ara-
bic language and literature and his extensive writings
brought fame to him and his adopted home town. One of
his best known scholarly manuscripts went missing early
in the 19th Century, but was rediscovered in 1995 and is
now on public display.
Fayetteville, like many other important southern cities, was
a target of Union General Sherman as he moved north
after his march through Georgia. By the time Sherman
reached Fayetteville in mid-March, 1865, however, the
war was clearly approaching its end and Sherman’s de-
struction was focused mostly on military facilities such as
5
the arsenal. Many of Fayetteville’s distinguished struc-
tures, mostly built following the 1831 fire, survived the war
and are in place today, forming the basis for the community’s
several historic districts.
Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. In World War I,
the US Army selected a 20-square mile site northwest of
Fayetteville as the location for what would become Fort
Bragg. A modest airport, Pope Field, was added in 1919.
In 1934, Fort Bragg began experimentation with a new
military technology in which soldiers parachuted (initially
World War II, when it became a major military training
center and at one point housed 67,000 uniformed person-
nel. Fort Bragg trained most of the nation’s airborne or
paratroop forces during World War II and following the
war became the permanent home of the 82nd Airborne
Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Pope Air Force Base was expanded to provide mobility
and support services. It is now home of the Air Mobility
Command’s 43rd Airlift Wing, which operates two squad-
rons of C-130 “Hercules” transport aircraft, the 23rd
Fighter Group which flies the A/OA-10 “Thunderbolt II”
close air support aircraft and other units.
Today there are about 51,000 soldiers and 9,000 airmen
and -women assigned to Fort Bragg and Pope AFB. Vir-
tually all are professionals who have chosen the military as
a major part of their career and have received high levels
of training. The 7,000 persons leaving the military here
each year have provided an important boost to the Fay-
etteville economy—as entrepreneurs starting new high-tech
firms; skilled, dedicated and disciplined employees for
existing companies; and other contributions.
Current Conditions. Fayetteville today is a well-rounded
metropolitan area with a wide range of economic activities
and an emerging star among North Carolina’s distinguished
cities. The Cumberland County economy provides over
86,000 jobs, according to US Commerce Department data
released in 2003 for the year 2001, not including most
government or agricultural employees or the self-employed.
Cumberland County has a large manufacturing base em-
ploying over 12,000, with half a dozen plants employing
one thousand or more. Some companies such as DuPont
have chosen to locate multiple facilities here.

The community is the retail and services center for a wide
surrounding area of North and South Carolina. Cumber-
land County’s retail sector employs nearly 16,000 and
generated nearly $3 billion in sales for 2002.
Health care services are a rapidly growing activity here.
The County-owned Cape Fear Valley Health System in-
cludes four major hospital facilities, ranging from emer-
gency rooms to long-term rehabilitation. Womack Army
Medical Center is one of the nation’s largest military hos-
pitals and is the Army’s global center for several special-
ized medical practice areas. There is also a major Veteran’s
Administration hospital and a facility affiliated with Duke
University. About 525 physicians are in active practice in
Cumberland County, including about 85 in various federal
positions.
Current details about the Fayetteville and Cumberland
County community and economy are available from the
Fayetteville Area Economic Development Corporation.
uality of Life
Q Carolina has made a vigorous effort to upgrade public
The local quality of life can make a critical contribution to
a company’s staffing stability. Fayetteville offers an ap-
pealing quality of life that helps automotive manufacturing
facilities recruit, transfer and maintain quality employees.
It was one of only 10 cities in the United States in 2001 to
receive the “All-America City” award from the National
Civic League, a designation that reflects excellence across
a wide range of conditions. Fayetteville previously
achieved “All-America City” status in 1985.
The Natural Environment. The climate of Central North
Carolina is moderate, with the variety of four seasons but
little extreme weather.
joy North Carolina.
Health Care, Education, Culture. The Fayetteville
area’s hospitals provide a high quality of health care. Some
local facilities have relationships with medical centers in
larger cities, such as the Duke University Medical Center,
that help when a patient needs special services. Local spe-
cialized health care facilities provide services normally avail-
able only in major metropolitan areas.
The Cape Fear Valley Health System’s Cancer Center is
one of few accredited as a Community Hospital
Comprehensive Cancer Program. It has a variety of fa-
cilities such as a linear accelerator, a simulator and a 3-D
Radiation Oncology treatment planning system, which sup-
ports precise treat-ment plans for individual patients. Its
Behavioral Health Care is one of the most comprehensive
psychiatric systems in North Carolina. Its Heart Center
has been conducting open heart procedures for a dozen
years.
Cumberland County Schools are in process of implement-
ing a $40 million capital improvement program which has
resulted in seven new schools in the past four years. North
schools, with quantifiable results; for example, the state’s
schools rank first in the nation in the percentage of high
school student taking upper level mathematics course (http:/
/www.ncreportcards.org/src/
stateDetails.jsp?Page=1&pYear=2002-2003).
Cultural facilities include the Fayetteville Museum of Art,
the Museum of the Cape Fear, and the Airborne & Spe-
cial Operations Museum. Downtown Fayetteville has un-
dergone a major resurgence, with new and tastefully reno-
vated historic structures centered on the 1832-vintage
Market House.

The Right Size. Most residents like Fayetteville’s size,

scale and relationship to nearby cities and attractions. The
Fayetteville MSA is an attractive, balanced medium-sized
urban area, big enough to provide key services and ameni-
ties, but small enough to have reasonable business and
living costs, accessible governments and freedom from traf-
fic congestion, high crime rates and some other problems
of large cities. Both beaches and mountains are acces-
sible. Fayetteville is an excellent place from which to en-
6

Cost Of Living. The cost of living in Fayetteville aver-
ages 6 to 7 percentage points below the average of some
300 cities, which includes most US MSA’s. Fayetteville’s
index is well below that of several other cities in the re-
gion, according to ACCRA (the American Chamber of
Commerce Researchers Association). In a Tax Founda-
tion study released in November, 2003, using ACCRA
and other data, the “Income Required to Pay for a Me-
dian Standard of Living” in Fayetteville was cited as 93.7
percent that of the national average (http://
www.taxfoundation.org/SR125.pdf).

DVANTAGES OF FAYETTEVILLE AS A
A DISTRIBUTION CENTER LOCATION

Fayetteville is a particularly attractive location for a wide
range of automotive part and component manufacturing
facilities.
To show why, this chapter starts with a review of selected
business conditions and technological trends as they affect
the site selection needs of contemporary automotive manu-
facturing facilities. It then points out how Fayetteville is
especially well suited to serve many of these needs.
verview of the US Automotive Parts
O Manufacturing Industry
The US automotive parts and components industry has
about three-quarters of a million employees, 5,500 plants
and $100 billion in sales. The following exhibit summa-
rizes the auto parts manufacturing industry at the six-digit
level of the North American Industry Classification Sys-
tem, as shown by the most recent edition of the US Com-
merce Department’s County Business Patterns:
Some of these parts and components plants are owned by
OEM’s, some are not, and the situation is constantly chang-
ing as shown by the spinoffs of Delphi and Visteon from
GM and Ford. DaimlerChrysler has sold its auto elec-
tronics plant to Siemens, but at the same time has acquired
major new production facilities in the Carolinas that manu-
facture chassis systems and fire/rescue equipment.
In addition, other companies and facilities supply auto OEM
assembly plants and aftermarkets with more generic parts,
components and supplies such as paint and hardware. Also
not included in the above list are some closely related in-
dustries such as Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manu-
facturing, NAICS Code 3362. The difficulty of classify-
ing auto parts suppliers is illustrated by the fact that the
largest component of the NAICS list above is the “other”
category, which includes wheels, airbags, environmental
controls, and many other items. Nonetheless, it is clearly
a large industry.
Since employment in the nation’s auto, light truck/SUV
and heavy truck final assembly plants is about 210,000,

NAICS Code Products Manufactured Employment Establishments

336311 Carburetors, pistons, piston rings, and valves 18,345 138
336312 Gasoline engine and engine parts 79,837 846
336321 Vehicular lighting equipment 16,126 100
336322 Other MV electrical and electronic equipment 88,643 934
336330 Motor vehicle steering and suspension parts 44,251 204
336340 Motor vehicle brake system 39,484 260
336350 Vehicle transmission and power train parts 105,316 507
336360 Motor vehicle seating and interior trim 50,433 338
336370 Motor vehicle metal stampings 115,931 740
336391 Motor vehicle air-conditioning 19,406 69
336399 All other motor vehicle parts 161,895 1,390

TOTAL 739,667 5,526

7
this means that there are about 3.5 workers making parts
and components for every one doing final assembly. This
ratio has increased recently and is likely to continue to do
so. Facilities that supply components and parts directly to
the OEM’s (termed “Tier 1” suppliers) are being asked to
provide components at a much higher level of completion
than was traditionally the case. At one time, US auto as-
sembly plants were highly integrated. For example, Ford’s
historic River Rouge Plant itself made virtually everything
that went into a car. Now, however, assembly plants rely
pressive 27.1 percent; 17th out of 47 in revenues per dol-
lar of assets; and 6th out of 47 in revenues per dollar of
equity. It ranked 7th out of 46 in Best Investments By
Industry: Total Return to Shareholders (1 Year), where it
was the fourth-best manufacturing industry performer.
hy Locate an Automotive Manufacturing Plant
W in Fayetteville?

on their suppliers to provide subassemblies that represent

much of the value and effort of producing the finished ve-
Fayetteville offers several unique advantages as a location
hicle. This has resulted in a more important and sophisti-
for automotive production facilities.
cated role for the Tier 1 suppliers. In the 2004 Fortune
500 rankings, which lumps together both parts and final
The good results of existing companies are one reason.
assembly firms, seven of the top ten automotive compa-
North Carolina and the Fayetteville area have proven them-
nies are suppliers. This blue chip list includes Goodyear
selves successful locations for manufacturing a wide range
(ranked seventh in its industry by Fortune) and
of automotive products. About 33,000 North Carolinians
ArvinMeritor (tenth), the parent companies of Kelly-
are employed in the transportation equipment business,
Springfield and Purolator respectively, both of whom have
which ranges from small specialized parts facilities to full-
large plants in Fayetteville. (http://www.fortune.com/for-
scale assembly plants. Of that number, over 19,000 work
tune/subs/fortune500/industrysnapshot/
in facilities which manufacture automotive parts.
0,19721,43,00.html)
In Cumberland County, Purolator employs about 1,350 in
The auto parts manufacturing business is highly dynamic,
the world’s second-largest automotive filtration products
with many new facilities being developed but also some
plant. Kelly-Springfield employs about 2,700 in a plant
older ones declining or going overseas. The general trend
that manufactures car and light truck tires. Both have been
of US plants has been upward and, although there will be
in the Fayetteville Area since the 1960’s. Their presence
ups and downs in development of new facilities, most ex-
has contributed to development of related facilities. For
perts forecast continuing growth. Clearly one element of
example, tire wholesaler TBC has a local distribution cen-
this trend is the development of global partnerships be-
ter of over a half-million square feet.
tween OEMs and suppliers. DaimlerChrysler, parent com-
pany of Freightliner Truck and Thomas Built Bus plants in
Fayetteville is well-positioned to serve automotive assem-
North Carolina, clearly has such an approach. At the same
bly plants in and near North Carolina. Exhibit 1 illustrates
time, however, many traditional North American suppliers
major OEM-owned auto plants in the Southeastern US.
have risen to the opportunities provided by the new non-
One favorable geographic feature of Fayetteville is that it
US-owned auto assemblers and have been very success-
is close to many, but not dominated by any one major
ful in earning their business.
automotive assembly plant. Parts and components ven-
dors need to be reasonably close to their assembly plant
It is also important to recognize that, while there has been
customers in order to deliver products on an efficient, just-
some relocation of auto parts production capacity to lo-
in-time basis. Many believe, however, that it is undesir-
cations outside the US, North American plants export bil-
able to be too close. Seeming to be locked into one given
lions of dollars of automotive products per year including
assembly plant may limit the parts suppliers’ ability to sell
parts.
to other assembly plants. It would also put them in the
position of competing for people and other resources with
In summary, the automotive business has been volatile, but
their larger neighbor. North Carolina is within a one-day
continues to show much growth in North America. In the
drive (600 miles) of 80 percent of the US and Canadian
2004 Fortune ranking of motor vehicles and parts, the
motor vehicle assembly plants.
Motor Vehicles and Parts industry ranked 14th out of 39
industries in growth of profits over the past year, an im-

8
 xhibit X
E
SELECTED MAJOR AUTO, TRUCK, AND COMPONENT PLANTS
IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

State Location Company Product Comments

AL Huntsville DaimlerChrysler Electronics Sold to Siemens

AL Huntsville Toyota Engines
AL Lincoln Honda Vans
AL Montgomery Hyundai Autos
AL Vance DaimlerChrysler/Mercedes SUV’s
DE Newark DaimlerChrysler SUV’s
DE Wilmington GM/Saturn Autos
GA Atlanta Ford Autos
GA Atlanta GM Vans
KY Bowling Green GM Autos
KY Georgetown Toyota Autos
KY Louisville Ford SUV’s
KY Louisville Ford Medium Trucks
LA Shreveport GM Pickups
MD Baltimore GM Vans Closing 2005
MD Hagerstown Volvo Engines
MS Canton Nissan Pickups
NC Cleveland DaimlerChrysler/Frtliner Heavy Trucks
NC Gastonia DaimlerChrysler/Frtliner Components
NC High Point DaimlerChrysler/Thomas Busses
NC Mount Holly DaimlerChrysler/Frtliner Medium Trucks
NC Sanford Fiat Components
NC Swepsonville Honda Small Engines
SC Charleston DaimlerC/Am.LaFrance Fire & Rescue
SC Gaffney DaimlerChrysler/Frtliner Chassis
SC Greenville BMW Autos
SC Timmonsville Honda ATV’s, Personal Water Vehicles
SC Winnsboro Renault/Mack Heavy Trucks Not Now in Use
TN Dechert Nissan Engines
TN Dickson Fiat Components
TN Kingsport Fiat Components
TN Madison Pacccar/Peterbilt Heavy Trucks
TN Smyrna Nissan Autos
TN Spring Hill GM/Saturn Autos
VA Dublin Volvo/Mack Heavy Trucks
VA Norfolk Ford Pickups
WV Buffalo Toyota Engines

9

conomic Advantages of Fayetteville
E Therefore, the cost for an equivalent building in this area
Fayetteville provides automotive manufacturers the poten-
tial for major reductions in capital and operating costs com-
pared with national average or typical costs for such facili-
ties. This section illustrates some of those potentials. It
estimates certain costs for a production facility and com-
pares them with national average or typical costs for plants
in the automotive manufacturing industry.
This hypothetical plant consists of a 150,000-square foot
building on a 20-acre site and is assumed to employ 300
personnel.
Staffing Costs. Recruiting and maintaining qualified em-
ployees are significant costs of operating an automotive
components manufacturing plant. BFPC used interviews
with existing Cumberland County plants along with the most
recent payroll data from the US Commerce Department’s
County Business Patterns series to estimate these expenses.
The national average annual direct wage cost for workers
in the “Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing” industry cat-
egory (NAICS Code 3363) is over $21 per hour. A con-
servative estimate is that comparable personnel could be
recruited in the Fayetteville area for $14.50 per hour. This
represents a mix of basic production staff with skilled se-
nior maintenance personnel, set-up operators and super-
visors.
Benefits and overhead costs are estimated to cost an av-
erage of an additional 35 percent in both locations. Thus
the total annual cost for 300 employees in the hypothetical
Fayetteville automotive manufacturing plant would be
$12,214,800 while the national average would be
$17,690,400. An automotive parts production plant in
Cumberland County could thus save its owner nearly $5.5
million dollars per year in personnel costs relative to the
national average for this industry.
Real Estate Costs. The physical structure required for
automotive components production is estimated to cost
$60 per square foot to construct, on a national average
basis. For a building of 150,000 square feet, the total
cost would thus be $9,000,000. R.S. Means Construc-
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tion Cost Data indicate that construction costs in Fay-
etteville are about 75.6 percent of the national average.
would be about $6,804,000.
A recent national average estimate for above-average qual-
ity industrial sites was $31,000 per acre. In the Fayetteville
area, good sites can be purchased for $18,000 per acre.
If a 20-acre site is purchased, the national average cost
would be $620,000. In Cumberland County, a price of
$18,000 per acre would lead to a total land cost of
$360,000.
Based on the above assumptions, the national average cost
for building and land together would total $9,620,000;
while in the Fayetteville area, the comparable cost would
be $7,164,000. The difference in favor of Fayetteville is
nearly $2.5 million dollars. Most companies would look
at this cost spread over a period of years. Based on a 6
percent interest rate and amortization over a 15 year pe-
riod, annual payments for the national-average facility
would be $990,502 and for the Fayetteville facility would
be $737,625. This represents an annual real estate sav-
ings in Fayetteville of over $250,000.
Summary of Cost Items. The capital and operating costs
associated with an automotive parts plant, as discussed
on the previous pages, are summarized below:
Nat’l Avg or Cumberland
Cost Item Typical Plant County Plant
Wages $13,104,000 $9,048,000
Fringe Benefits 4,586,400 3,166,800
Land & Bldg Amortization 990,502 737,625
TOTAL $18,680,902 $12,952,425
Index (Nat’l Avg = 100) 100.0 69.3
Thus the total of these selected costs in Fayetteville
and Cumberland County is about 31 percent below
the national average for a comparable facility.
These costs are highly generalized estimates for a hypo-
thetical automotive parts manufacturing plant. Most base
data are derived from actual figures developed by the US
Commerce Department and other governmental agencies,
industry organizations and BFPC’s experience with cli-
ents in this business.
The overall finding is very compelling. The Fayetteville
area shows great promise as a location for automo-
tive component plants, based on a wide range of cost
and other advantages.

______________________________________

More about Fayetteville and its advantages for your company is available from the

CUMBERLAND COUNTY BUSINESS COUNCIL

Telephone (800) 396-4210

www.ccbusinesscouncil.org

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