MUNCIE, Indiana — Ohio raises its grade for logistics to an A, says the 2018 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card released recently by the Ball State Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and Conexus Indiana.

Ohio improved from B+ to A in its logistics and B- to B in its diversification grades. The state maintained the grade of B in manufacturing, C in tax climate and liability gap, and C- in human capital. Ohio declined from B to B- in global position, C+ to C in productivity and innovation and C- to D in benefits costs.

Ohio experienced an increase in assisted living costs between 2016 and 2017, the report said.

“U.S. manufacturing and logistics are in a remarkable period of expansion,” said CBER Director Michael Hicks, George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics and business research.

The report, released at the Conexus Indiana breakfast event co-hosted with the Indianapolis Business Journal titled, “Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics: Indiana’s Innovation Economy – Exploring Transportation Megatrends,” features an annual scorecard comparison of advanced manufacturing and logistics health among U.S. states.

The 2018 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card was written by Hicks and Srikant Devaraj, CBER’s research assistant professor. The reports can be downloaded from http://conexus.cberdata.org/.