Indiana is among the nation’s top tier in four important categories—manufacturing health, logistics health, tax climate and global reach, according to the 2015 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card issued by Conexus Indiana, the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics initiative, and Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

The state received a grade of A in each of those categories, a level that it has been maintaining for several years. The state did less well in the human capital category, achieving only a C, and in the fiscal and productivity & innovation categories, where it received B- grades. All of these categories are important for businesses seeking to relocate or expand.

For the seventh consecutive year, Indiana’s manufacturing health has earned an A, and for five consecutive years, the state has rated an A in logistics health. Indiana’s global reach and its tax climate both maintained A grades for the seventh consecutive year.

“Indiana benefits from business operations and employment in a diverse range of sectors, from biosciences to communications,” said Steven Dwyer, president and CEO of Conexus Indiana. “The data convincingly demonstrate Indiana’s competitive edge, both in the Midwest and nationally.”

Although not scoring as well on human capital, the state’s improving score in that category demonstrates that its manpower initiatives are geared to sustaining manufacturing employment growth, according to Dwyer. “Programs such as Hire Tech are preparing students by focusing on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills that are needed in the advanced manufacturing environment,” he explained. “Indiana’s second year of improvement, C- to C, in the human capital category indicates that those initiatives in workforce development are the right approach to growing a talent pool required by Indiana’s advanced manufacturing and logistics companies. Our innovative programming at the high school and post-secondary levels are achieving positive results teaching the middle skills necessary to succeed in advanced manufacturing careers.”

Indiana’s scores in the expected fiscal gap and productivity and innovation categories continued a three-year improvement. The state outscored its neighbors Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin in the fiscal category, Dwyer noted, and only Michigan managed to reach an A in productivity and innovation.