The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases opened in Singapore's Biopolis in July 2004.

Ted Fishman

Those who recall the informative presentation on China by China Inc. author Ted C. Fishman at the IAMC Professional Forum in Williamsburg will appreciate this August 2 opinion piece he penned for USA Today, where he skewers some of the logic behind China bashers’ easy accusations.

Then again, some accusations may stick better than others. A new report written by Wiley Rein LLP and sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), the Committee for Pipe and Tube Imports (CPTI), and the Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) examines allegations of subsidies for China’s steel industry, some in violation of WTO rules. Money for Metal: A Detailed Examination of Chinese Government Subsidies to its Steel Industry documents more than $52 billion in subsidies granted to Chinese steel producers by the Chinese government. "China’s steel capacity grew another 20 percent in 2006," says the report, or four to five times that of the North American steel sector. "Today, experts estimate that China’s total steel capacity is already 500 million metric tons or more and will reach as much as 600 million metric tons by year-end 2007." "The result of these massive subsidies is that China’s government-controlled steel production is distorting the world marketplace, and the problem is only getting worse," said Andrew Sharkey, president of AISI.

One man’s subsidy is another man’s incentive. "The United States is one of only two OECD countries not to cut corporate tax rates in the past 12 years. That has pushed us further and further behind in a highly competitive international marketplace." So said Chris Atkins, senior tax counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation and co-author of a new study of international tax rates released in late July. The U.S. rate of 39.3 percent is second by a fraction to Japan’s rate, the highest among OECD nations. Atkins cites the following four benefits to a recommended Congressional decrease in the corporate tax rate:

• A lower effective tax rate on new investment in the U.S. would steer international investment our way.
• U.S. multinationals would feel less pressure to engage in corporate inversions and other forms of profit-shifting.
• U.S. companies would be more likely to reinvest foreign earnings in U.S. companies.
• State governments would feel less pressure to offer special tax preferences and credits in their efforts to attract new international business investment.
• U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Is Second-Highest in OECD Ranking, 2000-2006

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (pictured above) will manufacture the Theta engines (inset) that will be used in both Georgia-made Kias and Alabama-made Hyundais.

Most are familiar with the traditional rivalry between industrial development and tourism development. But there may be new common ground, called "factory tourism." According to an August 5th article in the Montgomery Advertiser, nearly 35,000 people have toured Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama since it began to offer tours two years ago, many traveling more than 100 miles to get there.

May be enough to set some facilities and real estate people to thinking about whether their companies’ operations can open up enough to accommodate tourists without giving away the farm.

A recent report from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Analysis reveals the U.S. airports with the highest and lowest fare premiums, or average fares for comparable domestic routes when compared with all markets with more than 20 passengers a day. Measured by fourth quarter 2006 average fare premiums, here are the 10 most expensive and the 10 least expensive markets, with airport symbols in parentheses:

International construction consulting firm Boyken International in its spring 2007 newsletter shares some detailed insights into the "cost to cure" construction defects.

As attendees of the Amelia Island Professional Forum’s post-Forum learning event at Jacksonville University heard, some corporate folks are astounded at some young people’s sense of entitlement. Turns out some college profs are doing their part to combat the phenomenon. At Loyola University Chicago's Graduate School of Business, Mary Burns teaches a course modeled after her book "Entitled to What? A Reality Check for the Generation Entering Corporate America." For a CNBC video excerpt featuring Burns, click here

Joel Kotkin is one of the nation's most oft-consulted experts on cities, geography, quality of life and the economic trends that tie them together.

Industrial asset managers and those who look to serve their facility and work-force needs can only nod their heads in agreement when they read "The Myth of Deindustralization," written by Joel Kotkin and published Aug. 6 in The Wall Street Journal. Those looking for project-based corroboration of his conclusions that cities like Houston, Dubuque and Charleston are on the make for manufacturers need only consult the pages of Site Selection, as well as the archives of this newsletter.