Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant and Toyota's manufacturing facility near Tupelo, Miss., along with their suppliers will employ thousands of new workers as the auto industry continues a shift South.

 

"Tennessee is poised for great things," said U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., at the North American International Auto Show this week.

 

Corker said he's still hopeful Detroit comes back strong.

 

"Alan Mulally is one of my heroes," he said about the Ford Motor Co. chief executive. At the auto show, Ford announced plans to hire as many as 7,000 workers over the next two years.

 

But, Corker said Tennessee is a "pro-business state" appealing to not just auto manufacturers but other industries and technologies as well.

 

Earlier this week, Nissan announced it will move production of its Rogue crossover sport utility vehicle from its factory in Kyushu, Japan, to its facility in Smyrna, Tenn.

 

The shift, which will take place by 2013, will bring more than 100,000 units of production to the Smyrna plant, according to Nissan.

 

Meanwhile, Michigan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate for November was 12.4 percent, tied for second-highest in the nation with California and behind only Nevada.

 

While economic developers in the South still have a lot of work to do, Tennessee's unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in November. Georgia's jobless rate was 10.1 percent.

 

The national unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in December.