In my clients' minds, transportation ranks near the top in consideration of siting a new facility.  

Basic manufacturing is highly automated these days, so employment costs are a relatively small portion of the overall cost picture (which, frankly, could make such projects unattractive to you--they just do not have large numbers of employees).

Energy is usually the number one item--what does it cost and where does it come from?

But right up there is transportation.  Access to low cost transportation for raw materials and finished goods are vital components of a successful project.

Consider that a modern paper mill manufacturers between 1,000 and 2,000 tons of product per day, it is easy to see that this can quickly equate to 40 to 80 truckloads per day of outbound product alone.

We recently worked on a project that took into account another transportation aspect--customs.  This project was finally located in Niagara Falls, New York.  Why?  The many access points for crossing the international border.  East of Montana, the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area offers more access points than any other location.

So, if you have a transportation advantage of any kind, exploit it.  If you measure and find yourself coming up short, develop an action plan to sell yourself in a better light.