In a period of booming manufacturing growth, transportation has helped Montgomery keep its momentum.

The city routinely ranks among the leading sites to land companies because of its access to interstates, railroads and air travel. That's one of the reasons Hyundai opened its first American production plant here nearly 10 years ago, and it's kept a stream of new manufacturers coming.

DAS North America is one of the latest, building a $35 million plant here this year and planning to have 440 workers in Montgomery building parts for Hyundai and Kia in Georgia. It's easy to ship the parts because the city sits at the intersection of Interstates 65 and 85, and dozens of railcars crisscross the city each day carrying freight.

CSX operates a major railyard and a transfer terminal here, serving the auto industry and others. The company invested $69.5 million in its Alabama network in 2012 alone. It spent $864 million on railcars in that same year to keep things rolling.