Winning Business Investments in the United States

The United States is an increasingly attractive location for business investment from global companies. In AT Kearney’s 2013 FDI Confidence Index, the United States surged past countries like China, Brazil and India to become the country with the top FDI prospects globally, as ranked by 302 companies representing 28 countries and multiple industry sectors. This marks the first time that the US occupied the #1 spot in the survey since 2001. In a survey of U.S. manufacturers with production abroad late last year, BCG found that the majority (54 percent) are looking at re-shoring to the United States, up from 37 percent in 2012. More and more companies are choosing to locate here after weighing the United States’ competitive advantages, including our: Skills and productivity: The U.S. workforce is among the most skilled and productive globally –more than 30 percent more productive than Germany’s and nearly twice as productive as South Korea’s.Innovation: The United States is the global leader in patents, producing nearly 30 percent of all patents worldwide, and has 15 of the top 25 leading research universities. Not surprisingly, the United States also has over a third of the world’s total R&D investment, more than any other country.Energy: With a century of reserves, natural gas costs one third as much here as it does in Asia and our low energy costs overall are estimated to save U.S. manufacturers nearly $130 billion annually compared to Europe.Access to markets: Locating in the United States provides unparalleled access to the largest consumer market in the world and rapid access to global markets, with the United States having free trade agreements with 20 other countries and the most rapid export clearances of the 185 countries surveyed by the World Bank.As the United States becomes increasingly competitive for investment, more global companies, including companies that are foreign-owned, are investing in and creating jobs in America. Business fixed investment from companies choosing to grow and invest in the United States accounts for more than 20 percent of the rebound in real GDP since mid-2009. While the precise amount of re-shoring from U.S. companies is difficult to track, all signs are that it is growing. And more measureable data on investments and jobs created by foreign companies in the United States provides a powerful proxy for the overall trend of re-shoring and growing U.S. competitiveness for business investment.