Approximately $10.7 billion worth of industrial projects began construction during the first half of this year within the Great Lakes region — with another $20.7 billion worth scheduled to start before the year's end, according to Sugar Land, Texas-based Industrial Info Resources (IIR).
The state of Ohio posted the highest spending, followed by Illinois and Kentucky. With a large chunk of this construction coming from the power industry segment, IIR predicts that about $12 billion worth of such projects will begin construction in the Great Lakes part of the country this year. Some of the major projects driving construction in this region include a proposed $2 billion Bluegrass mustard gas demilitarization plant in Kentucky, a proposed $1 billion Worldport air hub in Kentucky, and a proposed $500 million metallurgical coke plant in Ohio.
For the Great Lakes region overall, IIR says spending is on the rise and project fallout is decreasing — good news for the traditionally manufacturing-dependent region.