Midwest vs. South: Costs of Doing Business

Last week, if there was a theme to my column, it was cities vs. suburbs. This week, it's the Midwest vs. the South.

The cost of doing business was considered the chief reason companies could justify the migration from places like Cleveland and Detroit. Presumably, the foreign direct investment by Japanese and German automakers in the South was, in a big way, driven by labor costs.

The Wall Street Journal reports the gap is closing. A Moody's index has the South at 95% and the Midwest at 96% of the national average on business cost inputs. Is that, even, a difference?