According to a recent study by Dartmouth College, more than 123,400 people in South Carolina -- about 8.1 percent of the state's private-sector workforce -- are employed by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies.

The phenomenon of "insourcing," so named in contrast to the trend of U.S. businesses contracting work to laborers in foreign lands, has created jobs for 5.4 million Americans, according to the study.

The statistics were released this week by the Organization for International Investment, a Washington D.C.-based association of foreign-owned subsidiaries, and compiled from 2002 data collected by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The group found South Carolina lags only Hawaii in terms of the percentage of workers employed at foreign-owned firms with operations in the United States. In measuring the sheer number of jobs created here by foreign-owned companies, the state ranks 16th.

Among nearby states that ranked higher in the total number of jobs were North Carolina, coming in ninth in the nation, Georgia, ranked 12th, and Virginia, 13th.

Foreign-owned corporations that have added to the employee count in South Carolina include the Honda South Carolina plant in Timmonsville, BMW Manufacturing Corp. in Spartanburg County, BASF Corp.'s base in Spartanburg, and the Michelin North America site in Greenville. Smaller companies such as the Australian-based Quintrex Boats, with its U.S. headquarters in Moncks Corner, also have helped boost the tally.

The Michelin plant is one of South Carolina's oldest insourcing success stories. The French-based tire manufacturer opened its first plant in the state in 1975. Today, its North American headquarters is here along with seven plants, a product testing center and a research facility.

Manufacturing jobs like those at Michelin account for about 62,400 of the jobs at South Carolina subsidiaries. The state is 13th in the nation in terms of manufacturing jobs created by foreign-owned firms.

"Obviously this is one of those fronts where we're very competitive as a state," Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday in a press release. "We're going to continue pushing for reforms like income tax relief that improve the underlying climate and open the door for additional job growth and investment in our state."

Harry Butler, chairman of the State Ports Authority, recently cited the state's ranking as proof the port here can still attract foreign-owned businesses looking to branch out. Speaking at a port board meeting Tuesday at the Timmonsville Honda plant, Butler said the state still has far to go when it comes to further enticing Japanese subsidiaries and landing some of the most lucrative manufacturing deals with international firms.

"Japan is by far our largest trading partner, but we are still ranking toward the bottom in states that are attracting Japanese businesses to locate here," Butler said. "We're looking now to provide more incentives, but we need to further that relationship with Japan and Japanese businesses."

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