Fall 2011
For real-time news on economic development, business and politics in the American South, go to www.RandleReport.com. For more information on economic development in the South, go to www.SB-D.com and www.SmallTownSouth.com.
New megasite being readied in Northeast Florida
The Crawford Diamond Industrial Park is being readied by Nassau Co., Fla. The site features 1,814 acres and sits at the junction of two major railroad lines. Steve Rieck, executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board, said that Toyota considered the site for an assembly plant a few years ago before choosing Tupelo, Miss. About $86 million in state road construction is being spent to widen access to the site and other infrastructure is being built adjacent to the dual-rail site.
Another new megasite ready in the Alabama
The South Alabama Megasite was launched in the fall quarter. The 2,362-acre site is in Bay Minette, Ala., which is located in the far-southern county of Baldwin. Interstate 65 is contiguous to the site and I-10 is located 23 miles away. The Port of Mobile is located just 32 miles from the new megasite.
Texas creates one in every five new jobs in 2011
There has been one constant throughout the three phases of The Great Recession -- housing bust, stimulus recovery and the post-stimulus recovery -- and that has been the success of Texas and its diversified major markets. Various reports this year have shined on The Lone Star State, including being named "Best State for Jobs" by Forbes, "Best State for Business" by CEO Magazine (for the 7th consecutive year) and also this year Site Selection named Texas as having the best state business climate in the U.S. To top it off, a recent report by the Milken Institute shows that one in five new jobs created in the U.S. in 2011 came from Texas, even though the state is home to only about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population. In the recently published Milken report, four of the top five best performing U.S. cities -- San Antonio, El Paso, Austin-Round Rock and Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood -- came from Texas as did nine of the top 25. And it's not just Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio contributing to Texas' impressive economic development trophy case. El Paso, McAllen, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, San Angelo, Lubbock and Corpus Christi, among others, have been cited by some source as having economies that are in jump-start mode in the final phase of The Great Recession's recovery. Even tiny Victoria, Tex. has been featured as it is cited by SB&D in this issue's cover story as a poster child for the massive re-shoring event that's underway in earnest in the American South. As we look back at the post-stimulus recovery -- the final phase of The Great Recession -- there is no question that Texas outperformed all U.S. states during the recession and is outperforming all states in the recovery.
Four high-flying Texas metros hit decade-high employment levels
Sure, unemployment rates are only slightly lower than 10-year highs in many Texas markets, but that doesn't mean they aren't on their way down and fast. In December, Houston, Austin, El Paso and McAllen were four of five U.S. metros that equaled if not surpassed their highest employment levels in a decade. Houston, with 2.628 million nonfarm jobs, was the largest U.S. metro to equal its highest job level over the last 10 years. The other metro to equal or surpass its largest employment level was Pittsburgh. Those in the South that are almost to their top job levels include San Antonio, Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma City.
New Orleans most improved city for business in Wall Street Journal report
The Wall Street Journal's recently published MarketWatch Best City for Business report saw New Orleans jump from 77th out of 102 U.S. metros last year to 33rd this year. The jump represented the greatest improvement of any U.S. metropolitan area. MarketWatch surveyed all U.S. cities with populations of 500,000 or more -- 102 in all -- examining 15 criteria. Washington, D.C. was the Best City for Business followed by Boston, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Omaha. Making the top 10 in the South were Oklahoma City (6th), Austin (8th) and San Antonio (10th). Richmond, Dallas, Houston, Durham, Nashville, Raleigh and Tulsa all made it into the top 25.
Feds reject Duke-Progress merger. Merger revision coming in March
Federal regulators struck down Charlotte-based Duke Energy's proposed $26 billion merger with Raleigh-based Progress Energy. The two energy giants vowed to file a third merger revision to appease federal monopoly concerns. The earliest possible date for submission of the revised proposal would be in March.
Lexington-Fayette, Ky. receives top medium-sized market ranking
Lexington-Fayette, Ky. ranked No. 1 in the "Fourth Economy Community" (FEC) index ranking among mid-sized U.S. markets with populations of 150,000 to 300,000. Key criteria included investment, talent, place, diversity and sustainability.
Forbes: "Heavy metal is back: The Best Cities for Manufacturing"
Houston led all U.S. markets in the ranking "Best Cities for Manufacturing" released by Forbes in December. Ranking in the top 10 in the South included San Antonio (4th), Virginia Beach (5th), Kansas City (7th) and Oklahoma City (10th). Detroit was 6th.
Louisiana exports rise by 45 percent
Exports from Louisiana jumped 45 percent during the first three quarters of 2011 compared to the same period the previous year. Exports from Louisiana totaled $39.8 billion in the first nine months of 2011, up from $27.4 billion in 2010.
Manufacturing on a roll; Oklahoma leads pack
Manufacturing jobs increased by 1.9 percent between October 2010 and October 2011. That doesn't seem like much, but considering all other sectors grew by only 1.1 percent during that time it is a huge statement. Utah, Louisiana, South Carolina and Michigan all saw about five percent gains in their manufacturing employment rolls during the October year-to-year. Oklahoma saw an increase of 8.5 percent, the largest such increase in manufacturing job gains in the country from October 2010 to October 2011.
Manufacturing jobs rebound sharply in S.C.
South Carolina saw 15,000 more jobs from October 2010 to October 2011, dropping that state's unemployment rate to 10.5 percent. Manufacturing accounted for more than three-quarters of the job total, posting a 10,800 gain during the same period. In September and October of 2011, Bridgestone, Continental Tire and Nephron Pharmaceuticals announced plans to create a combined 3,250 jobs in the Palmetto State.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch courts Mercedes after embarrassing Alabama immigration law event
In November, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch courted Alabama's Mercedes-Benz plant after police in Tuscaloosa arrested Detlev Hager, a 46-year-old Mercedes executive traveling on business in the state. Hager didn't have proper identification on him or in his rental car so under Alabama's new immigration law he was arrested. The Post-Dispatch opinion piece read, "Hey, Mercedes, time to move to a more welcoming state" and "Carpetbaggers never have been treated very kindly in the South, though we would have thought exceptions would have been made for those with SUV factories in their carpetbags." The opinion piece also added, "We are the Show-Me State, not the 'Show me your papers" state. Charges were dropped after an associate delivered Hager's passport and German driver's license, the Tuscaloosa News reported.
Sweeney, Randle weigh in on Alabama immigration law
In an article published on November 30 in the Mobile Press-Register, Mark Sweeney, senior partner at Greenville, S.C.-based McCallum Sweeney Consulting, weighed in on Alabama's tough new immigration law. "Alabama has worked so hard to reinvent itself as a destination for global manufacturing. It's really been a remarkable transformation. Unfortunately, this law really is counter to that effort. There's nothing good about it. I can't see any positives in terms of economic development," Sweeney said in the article. In November, an embarrassing development occurred in Alabama when a Mercedes executive was arrested as a result of the new law. Charges were eventually dropped after the German executive, who was visiting the automaker's assembly plant in Vance, Ala., delivered the proper paperwork to Alabama authorities. A week later, a Japanese man temporarily working at Honda's assembly plant in Lincoln, Ala. was stopped at a roadblock and arrested as a result of the new law. Mike Randle, publisher of SB&D, also was interviewed by another Alabama-based daily newspaper about the tough immigration law. "We get foreign visitors all the time. This is going to happen again, there's no question. If it does, I can't imagine what the impact will be," Randle said in an article published by The Birmingham News in November.
Forbes' best states for business
Forbes recently published its "Best States for Business" ranking. Virginia (2), North Carolina (4), and Texas (6) were the only Southern states to make the top 10. Georgia and Oklahoma made it into the magazine's top 20.
More Californians migrating to Texas
California has sent more folks to Texas than any other state by a wide margin. In fact, according to Census figures, more than 360,000 people have relocated from California to Texas in the last five years. That number represents the largest state-to-state migration in the U.S., where only 11.6 percent of Americans moved in 2010 and 2011. The figure is the lowest percentage of people moving on record or since the Census Bureau began tracking migration patterns in 1946.
Caterpillar moving plant to North America from Japan
Caterpillar officials announced in mid-November that the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment will build a new plant in North America and relocate production from Japan. The plant will be CAT's "global source" for small-track tractors and mini-hydraulic excavators for the America's. The new facility will also export partially assembled mini-excavators to Europe. No location for the plant has been determined as of mid-November, but the Illinois-based company said it will house about 1,000 workers. Caterpillar began a "Southern strategy" about 15 years ago placing plants in the American South in Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia, where union activity is much lower than where the company is located in the Midwest.
Virginia town wins "Best Place to Raise Kids"
Blacksburg, Va. was named the "Best Place to Raise Kids" in the U.S. by Bloomberg/BusinessWeek in the fall quarter. Blacksburg, home to Virginia Tech, has 41,383 residents.
West Tennessee adds more jobs than any TVA region in 2011
Economic development in West Tennessee is surging as companies like Electrolux, Mitsubishi Electric, and auto parts suppliers Quaprotek and UGN begin hiring at new plants. Among TVA's regions, West Tennessee saw the most added jobs and the second highest in capital investment in the first 11 months of 2011.
Texas tops business climate honors
Site Selection magazine has named Texas as the state with the best business climate for 2012. Following The Lone Star State was Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina.
Oklahoma City continues to have the lowest unemployment rate among large cities in the South
In October the jobless rate in Oklahoma City was at 5.8 percent, the lowest of any major market in the South. Midland, Tex. earned the lowest unemployment rate of all small markets in the South with 4.5 percent
Atlanta loses more jobs than any U.S. metro; Houston gains most
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data in October that showed since August 2010, the Atlanta metro lost more net jobs than any other U.S. metro. Atlanta saw a loss of 30,800 jobs, nearly three times the number of jobs lost in the same period by the second worst performing market, which was Kansas City, Mo./Kan (--12,800). Houston led all U.S. markets with a net increase of 65,600 jobs from August 2010 to August 2011.
Project Soccer blame game: "It appears to me everybody is trying to cover their tail."
That's what North Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco had to say about the political backlash seen in North Carolina after losing out to South Carolina for a $500 million, 1-million-square-foot, 1,700-job tire plant that will be built by Continental Tire. North Carolina Republican Senate leader Phil Berger blamed Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue for losing out to The Palmetto State for the coveted project. Berger cited ethical concerns that a Democratic state senator and other Democratic donors owned the land in Brunswick County, N.C. where the project would have been sited if won by North Carolina. On the other hand, Gov. Perdue blamed Republicans in North Carolina because they wouldn't sign off on a $45 million cash incentive to the tire maker. Continental officials maintained that the ethical concerns about the proposed site west of Wilmington, N.C. were not an issue, however, the company made it clear that the $45 million cash package was an issue in winning the project. The plant will be built in Sumter, S.C.
Green job growth to exceed overall job growth in Mississippi
Mississippi, which has landed several high-profile clean tech projects of late, will see green job employment grow by 18.5 percent over the next 10 years, which will exceed overall job growth of 12 percent. The projections were made by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and the first-ever Mississippi Green Jobs Survey that the department has conducted.
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