by Josh Bays, on Mar 19, 2018 12:45:29 PM
Site Selection Group, a leading location advisory and economic incentives firm, researched site selection trends for manufacturing projects in in the past quarter. Over 1,000 manufacturing projects were announced in the past three months. The average number of jobs created per project was 117 employees, with a median of 40. The average capital investment per project announcement was approximately $75 million, but the median was much lower at roughly $5.5 million.
Compared to the year-ago period, the size of projects announced from a job creation perspective was relatively larger in the past three months. As the chart below shows, there was a smaller percentage of projects with less than 50 planned hires, and a greater percentage of mid-size and larger projects. Overall, job creation increased over 40% from project announcements compared to the year-ago period.
Manufacturing project announcement by jobs
As was the case last year, the past quarter saw many projects with capital investments of $10 million or less. However, there was an overall increase of roughly 14% in overall investment. In Site Selection Group’s experience, the bulk of activity in economic development involves small, consistent projects, rather the larger projects that capture headlines.
Manufacturing project announcements by investment
Manufacturing project announcements by state
With 134 and 117 announcements respectively, Ohio and Texas collected the most manufacturing projects within the past three months. States in the Southeast and Central U.S. boast the largest capital investment and job creation numbers. The map below displays this data in more detail. Hover over a state for more information.
Major manufacturing announcements
Site Selection Group identified several recent manufacturing announcements of significance in terms of capital investment and job creation.
Traditionally known as an aerospace engineering hub, Toyota and Mazda announced a joint venture for a $1.6 billion auto assembly plant employing 4,000 workers.
Adding to their existing Tennessee presence, Tyson plans to invest $300 million in a new chicken production complex that will employ over 1,500.
Spirit plans to expand its facility in Wichita with over $1 billion in investment and 1,000 new jobs.
A $1 billion expansion to Denso’s Maryville facility will create more than 1,000 new jobs.
- Nutribiotech in Garland, Texas
Nutribiotech will invest $100 million into expanding its Garland facility and adding over 1,600 jobs as part of a plan to expand its North America presence by a factor of 10 over the next five years.
Source: Conway Analytics
