“ The plummeting U.S. dollar has made the move across the Atlantic affordable for many European companies. And this may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to relocate: American companies have rarely been so cheap. Five years ago, a German or Spanish company that coveted a U.S. competitor worth $500 million needed roughly 430 million euros to purchase it. Today, it would take just 316 million euros to buy a company worth half a billion dollars.
Click Here! European companies are not just being pulled to America by a cheaper dollar. They are also being pushed away from Europe by a business environment that is not as attractive as that in the United States. For many companies, moving across the Atlantic is the fastest and cheapest way to cut costs and become more competitive. The average hourly manufacturing wage in Europe is 16 percent higher than in the United States. Social insurance and payroll taxes are far steeper in Europe. As are energy costs: the average price of a kilowatt-hour for industrial usage in Europe is roughly 60 percent more than in the United States. Transportation costs are higher, too. And the cost advantages of operating in the United States don’t stop there. Land is still far cheaper in the United States. An acre of rural land in the United States will cost you an average of $1,900. The same plot of land will cost you $5,700 in Germany, $6,650 in Spain, and $14,600 in Denmark.

posted : Friday, April 25th, 2008

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