A study is currently under way in north carolina to examine the complex relationship between transportation investments and satisfaction of manufacturing firms with location. The study is part of a continuing analysis by the university of north carolina at charlotte to develop the linkage between transportation and economic development. The 100 counties of north carolina were classified according to transportation access, economic structure, manufacturing composition, and socioeconomic characteristics. A data set consisting of more than 400 variables was analyzed using factor analysis and cluster analysis to develop the classifications. The counties were then grouped into six clusters. Using this cluster structure, a survey of about 1, 000 manufacturing firms in norh carolina is being conducted using an extensive mail questionnaire. Manufacturers have been asked to describe their perceptions of the importance of transportation systems and other factors in bringing in materials, shipping out products, and providing access to labor markets. These data will be correlated with information on highway investments, location of the firm with respect to the highway system, and other transportation access measures. Models such as factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and canonical modeling will be used to determine the relative importance of transportation against other socioeconomic and fiscal variables in determining manufacturer satisfaction. Then, policy analysis of various transportation funding strategies will be used to determine the effects of investment. Findings will be used to help rank transportation system investments intended to strengthen the state's industrial base. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1274, Transportation and economic development 1990: proceedings of a conference, williamsburg, virginia, november 5-8, 1989.
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