For 2007, new plant openings in the industrial manufacturing industry will match 2006 total's by mid-2007 and almost double by the end of the year, according to research released Thursday by by Industrial Info Resources.
Although there have been slowdowns in some sectors of the Industrial Manufacturing Industry, such as automotive and semiconductors & computers, the projected new plants and new job additions, bode well for the health of manufacturing in 2007.
By the end of 2006, 300 plants will start operations, accounting for over 46,000 new jobs in the U.S.
For the first quarter of 2007, the Industrial Manufacturing Industry is projected to have an additional 129 plants become operational, which is 43 percent of 2006’s year-end totals, and an addition of 25,000 new jobs, Industrial Info's research indicates.
Although the Great Lakes region, with 30 new plants, is again in first place for the first quarter of 2007, it only ranks third in total new jobs with just under 4,200.
The total new job leader for the first quarter is the Southeast region with just over 5,600 jobs and they come in second in new plants with 21. Industrial Info reports that for the rest of the top five regions, new plant statistics are at 17 for both the the Rocky Mountains and Southwest, and the Mid-Atlantic has 15.
The top five regions by new employee count are the Southeast, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest.
As for the location of these plants, North Carolina and Pennsylvania are at the top with nine plants each, followed by Texas with eight new plants; Illinois, California and Florida tied at seven; Wisconsin with six; and Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio tied at five.
For new job additions, Alabama comes in first with just over 2,100 new jobs, followed by Florida with 2,000, Michigan with 1,800, California with 1,700 and New Mexico with 1,600, according to the report.