Welcome to the neighborhood. And no, that's not just a mote in your eye, Governor Moonbeam...
Frankly, it amazes me that so many companies will stay physically located in a place with a hostile economic climate when they ship nationwide anyway. Some have used the excuse that that's where the skills are, but really, skills will generally go where the job is, especially if it's in an area with lower cost of living at the same standards, and often higher pay since the company isn't spending as much on property and taxes.
Locally, we've got a major abrasive products company and a major oilfield products company. Both ship all over the country, and it doesn't cost any more to send product out of here than it does to send it from Dallas, or over land from Houston. The oilfield company has a Houston warehouse for easy access to the ship channel, but just the real estate the production facility sits on would cost 5-6 times as much down there. Hot shots and full truckloads are actually faster, since the truck is on a major US highway 3 minutes after leaving the site, and out of town within ten minutes. From here to Houston, the only place they're likely to hit traffic is Austin.
Down the road in the next similarly sized (15-30,000) city, 3M and Kohler have big production facilities for pretty much the same reasons.
