Alabama set record by exporting automobiles to 99 countries in 2014

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March 31, 2015

Mercedes-Benz C-Class, manufactured in Alabama

VANCE, Ala. — According to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce, as reported by AL.com, the state made almost a million automobiles in 2014, exporting to 99 countries, a new record.

A total of $6.6 billion worth of vehicles built by Mercedes, Hyundai, and Honda in the state were sent to other countries, mainly Canada ($2 billion) and China ($1.8 billion).

The majority of Alabama’s automobile exports were built in the Mercedes plant in Vance.

An increased global demand for cars, and Alabama’s ever increasing capacity to build high quality vehicles mean that the state’s exports will likely continue growing at a fast clip.

“Alabama is off to a robust start with January 2015 statistics reporting almost a 15 percent increase from January 2014,” said Hilda Lockhart, director of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Division.

Records will likely continue to be set in coming years as automobile manufactures re-up their investment in the state. In the fall of 2014, Mercedes announced it was bringing 200 additional jobs to their Alabama plant in 2015, boosting production up to 300,000.

Government officials give lots of credit for the growth in Alabama’s manufacturing sector to the state’s right-to-work status. Foreign companies, particularly Japanese-owned businesses like Honda, weigh right-to-work laws heavily when deciding where to locate operations in the United States.

“Over 70 Japanese companies have chosen to invest capital to operate in Alabama and to employ over 12,000 Alabama workers,” Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield told Yellowhammer in September 2014. “The Japanese business culture places great emphasis on teamwork, quality, dedication and innovation. These Alabama-Japanese companies have found our state to be ideal as a right-to-work state; a state with a supportive governance and regulatory environment; a state whose workforce provides the dedication to quality, teamwork and innovation necessary to meet and exceed customer expectations; which all translates to market growth and success in the North American markets by choosing to locate in Alabama.”