"We're No. 2!"

The state of Tennessee ranked second in Site Selection magazine's annual ranking of state business climates nationwide. Tennessee was second only to North Carolina. The ranking is based on two components: 1) surveys of site selection professionals, and 2) actual business expansion activity as tracked by the magazine's "proprietary New Plant database."

The results are the cover story for the magazine, but the web version is a little light on discussion of Tennessee, focusing mostly on No. 1 North Carolina. The angle is North Carolina Governor Mike Easley's understandable commitment to NASCAR.

If half of the measure is performance based, it would seem to bode well for Tennessee's future rankings as the "proprietary New Plant database" reflects the new plants related to Volkswagen and its suppliers who locate in the Chattanooga area.

Read the complete web article on Site Selection magazine's web site.