Commissioned for the upcoming 25th anniversary of Honda vehicle manufacturing in America, the study was conducted by the Columbus tax and public finance consulting firm Levin, Driscoll & Fleeter.
"Honda has grown into a major economic engine for Ohio," the principal author, Howard B. Fleeter, Ph.D., said of Honda's manufacturing, engineering, purchasing, research and product development operations.
"Most Ohioans know that Honda is here, but this study shows Honda's importance to Ohio's economy over more than two decades," Fleeter said.
Key findings of the study include:
- Direct employment at Honda's six Ohio subsidiaries is 16,049, producing an annual Honda payroll exceeding $1.1 billion.
- Honda has invested $6.1 billion in its Ohio operations.
- The value of goods produced at Honda's Ohio facilities reached $17.1 billion in 2003. Over 25 years, the cumulative value of goods produced at Honda has reached $178 billion.
- Honda has suppliers in 52 of Ohio's 88 counties. Those suppliers employ 40,776 Ohioans, of whom 18,689 work directly on Honda business.
- Honda purchases nearly $7 billion in goods each year from these Ohio suppliers.
- "Induced employment," a calculation of jobs that exist because of Honda, came to 112,357 Ohioans. Adding in Honda's own employment yields a total of 128,406 jobs attributable to Honda's presence.
- Ohio provided $27 million in direct incentives to Honda to locate and expand in Ohio. More than $1 billion in state and local taxes have been paid by Honda of America and its associates, yielding a return on the public investment of about 40 to 1.
- In addition, the state made $64.4 million in improvements to widen and upgrade U.S. Rt. 33 to four lanes, benefiting residents and businesses.
"For perspective, the total Honda output over the past 25 years exceeds the total of state general fund budgets for the past nine years," Fleeter said.
"These numbers are impressive, especially since they were achieved in so short a period of time - and in a mature and highly competitive industry that has felt the brunt of many recessions," Fleeter said. "And it's important to note here that, in these 25 years, Honda has never had a layoff."
"Honda's experience differs dramatically from that of more-recent entrants into the U.S. vehicle manufacturing picture," Fleeter said. "Generally, Honda's commitment to comprehensive investment strategies, support of an in-state supplier network and its culture of associate involvement in decision-making, offer a lesson in long-term planning and partnership-building."