NEW YORK – Thanks to the weakened dollar, the U.S. has leapfrogged France, Britain and other European countries as a cheaper place to do business.A study released Thursday by the auditing and consulting firm KPMG shows that the U.S. moved up on the list of most cost-efficient places around the world. Researchers compared 136 cities in 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, but did not include fast-growing China.Mark MacDonald, the global director of KPMG Competitive Alternatives, said the survey authors found the U.S. to be more cost competitive than they’d ever seen because of the plunging dollar.In 2006, the U.S. ranked seventh and lagged behind several other G7 countries. This year, though, only Mexico and Canada were cheaper. The U.S. is now cheaper than Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and France.The study, which measures competitiveness using labor costs, taxes, real estate and utilities, as well as nonmonetary factors, is done every two years.In the U.S., the cheapest places to operate were Atlanta; Tampa, Fla.; and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

HOW THEY RANK

KPMG ranked the affordability of doing business in 10 of the biggest industrial nations.

Here’s how they ranked in 2008, vs. 2006 (in parentheses). The study is conducted every two years.

1. Mexico (N/A)*2. Canada (2)3. United States (7)4. Australia (1)5. France (3)6. Britain (6)7. The Netherlands (4)8. Italy (5)9. Japan (8)10. Germany (9)

* Mexico new to survey

Sunlight peeks through aspens at Powderhorn, one of the ski resorts that wrap up their seasons this weekend. Photo by (ANDREW WINEKE, THE GAZETTE)