Indiana Earns 'A' For Global Reach In New Ball State University Study

Indiana continues to lead the nation when it comes to terms of employment and the global reach of its goods.

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(Muncie, Ind.) -  A new study from Ball State University found Indiana continues to lead the nation when it comes to terms of employment and the global reach of its goods, along with continuing to be a robust manufacturing state.

Each year, Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research analyzes how each state ranks among its peers in several areas of the economy that underlie the success of manufacturing and logistics.

The 2019 Manufacturing Scorecard from CBER also found that Indiana is also a strong logistics state, reflecting the geographic placement of the state and the demand for transportation of goods into and out of the state.

This year, Indiana has maintained an A grade in its global reach, exporting a full 10.5 percent of its GDP to global trading partners in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

"The strong relative performance of Indiana’s manufacturing sector is good news as the national manufacturing picture in 2019 has turned negative with the sector experiencing two quarters of decline, the Midwest is manufacturing and logistics dependent, and continues to lead in productivity and innovation," said Michael Hicks, director of CBER.

"However, as the world’s manufacturing outlook cools, there is growing risk to our region."

Specific metrics include manufacturing and logistics industry health, human capital, cost of worker benefits, diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation. Expected fiscal liability, tax climate, and global reach are also factors.

The state has improved slightly in 2019 with worker benefit costs, moving from a B- to a B, but slipped in its expected fiscal liability gaps.

However, Indiana remains among more than 30 states in which unfunded pension liabilities have little effect on the state’s fiscal health.