U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry Ramps Up for Second Quarter 2007

Despite a less-than-stellar start to 2007, $15.6 billion worth of industrial manufacturing projects are scheduled to begin construction in April, May, and June, says Industrial Info Resources (IIR), a Sugar Land, Texas-based provider of marketing information services.

In Q2, the Great Lakes region, comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, will have the most projects — 123 — for an investment total of $1.4 billion, while the Northeast region of the country will boast the highest investment totals for the quarter at $4.3 billion. Recent hardships experienced by the automotive industry are largely to blame for decreased spending in the Great Lakes region.

The Southeast region will maintain its second-place ranking for both investments totals, $3.4 billion, and total number of projects within a region with 116. At just under $2.3 billion, third place for investment goes to the West Coast region, followed by the Southwest region, which will see $2 billion for the quarter.

According to IIR, the top five spending states during the second quarter are New York ($4 billion), California at $1.9 billion, Texas at $1.6 billion, Georgia at $1.5 billion, and Tennessee with $1.1 billion. Although spending is less than it was a year ago, a total of 568 projects puts the industrial manufacturing industry on solid ground as it moves into the summer months.