WRCB Channel 3 Chattanooga News, Weather | Scoping out the Competition

Scoping out the Competition

We went to Huntsville Monday to have a look at some of Chattanooga's competition for the new Volkswagen plant.  We were told there are at least two sites being considered, both west of town in Limestone County.  The most prominent is said to be near I-65 and Alabama 20. 

There, in place of an industrial park like Enterprise South, we found lots of farm land and acres of undeveloped property.  The tennessee river is not far and neither is Huntsville International Airport.  Add those facts to the busy north-south thoroughfare the interstate provides, and "Rocket City" would seem to have the perfect location for a major auto manufacturer.
 
We tried to get the Huntsville sales pitch, but were turned away at both City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce.  Much like Chattanooga and Hamilton County leaders, they say they just can not comment.

Huntsville is no stranger to this kind of thing.  A Toyota plant opened there in 2003.  A half-billion dollar investment by the auto maker, it has already expanded twice and churns out 400,000 truck engines each year, employing a workforce just shy of a thousand people. 

The Huntsville Delphi plant is slated to close in 2009 adding a thousand trained line-workers to the ranks of the unemployed there.  However, the overall unemployment figures may be leaning in Chattanooga's favor.

Last week we learned from a former Toyota Senior Vice President that Chattanooga's low unemployment rate was the main reason that company passed on the Scenic City.  Dennis Cuneo lead Toyota's site search eventually opting for Tupelo, Mississippi.  This time around, Tennessee's unemployment rate is the highest its ever been, up a full percentage point from April.

Reported by: Greg Glover