Business Council of Alabama member Honda Manufacturing of Alabama LLC contributed $6.8 billion to the state’s economy in 2014 and along with suppliers was responsible for more than 43,000 jobs, the Economic Development Partnership reported in a study.
The EDPA study, conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, measured Honda’s impact and the impacts of Tier-1 automotive suppliers located in Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair, and Talladega counties.
Honda employed more than 4,000 associates at its Lincoln assembly facility and with suppliers a total of 39,339 direct and indirect jobs. The CBER conservatively estimated that HMA suppliers employed 7,628 workers and were responsible for 26,003 jobs.
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama President Jeff Tomko said the impact is due to important factors.
“Our achievements are only possible because of our associates and the employees at our suppliers,” Tomko said. “We are excited and grateful to see that HMA’s success is having such a significant impact on the state, and that it translates into greater economic opportunities for Alabamians.”
Honda associates make the Odyssey minivan, Pilot sport utility vehicle, the Acura MDX, and V-6 engines that power them.
BCA president and CEO William J. Canary said Honda, now nearing its 15th year in Alabama, is a stunning success due to the company’s integrity, its employees and management’s dedication to a quality product, solid engineering, and the right combination of state incentives and a work climate free of outside influence.
“Honda Manufacturing of Alabama is one of Alabama’s premier manufacturers that consistently shows solid results above and below the bottom line,” Canary said. “Its profitable circumstance due to many forces is a stabilizing feature not only of the economy of east Alabama but also the entire state.
“Honda created more than 43,000 well-paying jobs and spent more than $2.5 billion in non-payroll purchases and services last year,” Canary said. “That is an economic giant in anyone’s book.”
The $6.8 billion impact represents 3.4 percent of Alabama’s $199 billion gross domestic product.
According to the study, in 2014, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama accounted for more than $2.5 billion in non-payroll expenditures, had a total payroll of $360.8 million – an average of $71,047 per employee – which is 67 percent more than the average earnings for an Alabama worker.
Honda paid $ 112 million in taxes, with $62.4 million in state and $49.7 million in local taxes.
Honda’s Tier-1 suppliers in 2014 had a $1.9 billion impact on the state’s economy, accounted for $606.7 million in earnings, and generated $57.8 million in state and local taxes.
-Dana Beyerle