By now, you've probably had your fill of articles digesting the impact of Sept. 11 on just about everything in life. But will there be an impact on site selection?
Yes, say some experts.
``I think it will have a serious, long-term impact,'' said John Boyd, president of site selection firm Boyd Co. Inc. in Princeton, N.J. ``This issue of personal safety and stability of public safety has been brought to the forefront.
``It also brings up the whole question of uncertainty,'' Boyd said. ``That is what our clients seek to avoid - the whole notion of uncertainty makes it more difficult to plan.''
The poor economy complicates the analysis, but Boyd and other experts say that the events of Sept. 11 will matter for site-selection decisions, independent of what the economy does.
Boyd sees a retrenching from international locations, and an increasing interest in Canada.
The Canadian dollar is at an all-time low, the country's national health-care system means lower fringe-benefit costs for employers and the North American Free Trade Agreement has ``harmonized many business locations,'' Boyd said.
Employees are less interested in overseas travel, and companies worry about being able to ship parts and supplies, he said.
Another site-selection consultant, Dennis Donovan, said companies are taking a much closer look at overseas production, when they can.
``There will be a much greater emphasis on overseas locations for total risk - political risk, natural risk and terrorism risk,'' said Donovan, a principal with site-selection firm Wadley-Donovan Group in Morristown, N.J.
Both Donovan and Boyd said Sept. 11 has highlighted the need for disaster or contingency planning.