“The Heart of Dixie,” as Alabama is often called, is home to a diverse group of industries from food and forest products to aerospace and information technology. It is also home to businesses from 30 different countries,
according to the Alabama Department of Commerce.
Over the years, the state’s economy has evolved from coal mining to steel and iron production, which has helped several of its business sectors.
These days, the top five industries in Alabama are: automotive, chemical, technology, forestry, and aeronautics.
1. Automotive
The state has become an important center for building cars, including Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai. Alabama builds one-fourth of all passenger vehicles produced in the South.
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According to the 2013 Automotive News Market Data Book, Alabama ranks fifth in the U.S. car and light truck production, making 918,000 vehicles during 2013.
2. Chemicals
The No. 2 exporter in Alabama is the chemical manufacturing industry, which makes chemical substances such as oxidants, light stabilizers, emissions catalysts, and chlorine.
More than 200 chemical companies are located in the state, including DuPont, 3M Co., BASF, and Daikin.
3. Technology
In Alabama, tech companies are creating products for modeling and simulation technologies, cyber security, and data centers.
Information technology is particularly prevalent in the Huntsville/Madison County area of the state, with more than 300 international and domestic corporations operating in that area.
Their work ranges from the design and production of electronics and computer-related technology to the manufacturing of technology hardware to the making of sensors and radars for advanced missile systems.
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4. Forestry
The timberland in Alabama, third largest in the United States, is greater than the combined states of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Forestry is the state’s second largest manufacturing industry, with $13 billion in products produced annually. The state is first in pulp production and third in paper production nationwide.
5. Aeronautics
The aerospace industry in Alabama is more than 100 years old, starting with the Wright brothers’ establishment of a civilian flight school in 1910.
Alabamians also have bragging rights about helping to land the first man on the moon, as Huntsville was the location of NASA’s building of the Saturn V rocket, which was the first rocket to put humans on the moon.
Companies that currently operate in the state include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
Alabama offers businesses many advantages to operate within its borders, which was recognized in 2014,
when Area Development magazine ranked the state as No. 4 in its list of the “Top States for Doing Business.”
And outside of its borders, it provides the U.S. as well as the world with a variety of important products and services.
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