Briefs
by John Temple Ligon
South Carolina exports In 2007, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the State Ports Authority, South Carolina's 21.6% export growth included almost $17 billion in goods sold to 198 countries. Germany replaced Canada as South Carolina's No. 1 export market. Although the state's top export industry for 2007 was vehicles, South Carolina ranked first in the export of tires among U.S. states and territories and first in synthetic staple fiber and fabric exports.

Keeping tabs on Duke Charlotte- based Duke Energy is the nation's third largest corporate emitter of carbon dioxide. Largest is American Electric Power and second largest is Atlanta- based Southern Co. Duke CEO Jim Rogers says carbon output and its concomitant pollution controls will encourage more consolidation and economy of scale in the utility business. Duke's profits last year were $1.6 billion on revenue of $13.5 billion.

Cost- competitive The country's fourth least costly place to do business among midsized cities or regions, according to KPMG, is the Greenville- Spartanburg area, which KPMG categorized among the populations between 500,000 and 1.5 million. In the same category, Little Rock, Ark., was ranked No. 1 as the cheapest. Among the larger cities, the cheapest places were Atlanta, Tampa, and Dallas- Fort Worth. The United States was ranked third cheapest among the G7 countries, behind Mexico and Canada and cheaper than the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, and France.

Unemployment The unemployment rate in North Carolina was reported as increased to 5 percent in February. The rate was 4.9 percent in January, and for February in 2007 it was 4.5 percent. In South Carolina, the unemployment rate in February was 5.5 percent, down from 6.1 percent the month before and the lowest rate since the fall of 2001.

Low incomes According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Mississippi have a lower per- capita income than South Carolina, which means 46 states have a higher per- capita income. Starting from such a low point, growth should have great potential; however, South Carolina's per- capita income growth was 4.2% last year, one full percentage point behind the national average.

Only Charlotte Among the 20 markets tracked by Standard & Poor's and Case- Shiller, Charlotte was the sole U.S. urban area to report a gain in housing prices in January.

South Carolina Business Hall of Fame The 24th annual banquet for the S.C. Business Hall of Fame will be held on May 22, 2008, at the convention center on Lincoln Street. Usually pretty pricey, the event sells out early every year. Put together by Junior Achievement, the event's main sponsor is BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Call 803.252.1974 to reserve a strategic set of seats.