What’s the secret to rural Southern markets’ success?
By Michael Randle

For 25 years now, we have tracked economic development projects in well over 2,000 different markets in the South, from tiny hamlets to mega-markets. There are only 154 metropolitan statistical areas in the South, meaning the other 1,800 markets are either micropolitan cities or rural markets.

There are many successful small economic development cities in the South. Columbus, Miss.; Aiken, S.C.; Mississippi County, Ark.; Cullman, Ala.; and Martinsville, Va.; among others, have consistently outperformed other small and rural markets over the last 25 years in project activity. What’s their secret? In every case, their economic development agencies are well funded. They advertise on a regular basis, their workforce training programs are impressive and they are constantly developing product such as industrial parks and certified sites.

Take the case of Martinsville-Henry County, Va. Since July, over 500 new jobs and over $75 million in investments have been announced in Henry County. The Martinsville-Henry County EDC has invested years and countless dollars in a new development called Commonwealth Crossing. The 720-acre site is rail-served, and it just secured its first tenant, a Polish glass manufacturer that is investing over $43 million and will create 212 jobs.

Workforce training in the Martinsville area is second to none. The area is served by the Patrick Henry Community College, as well as the New College Institute (shown above), a new facility where Martinsville-Henry County EDC has its offices.

 

Skilled and less-skilled immigrants are incredibly important to the U.S. economy
By Michael Randle

At the same time Baby Boomers age out of the workforce in huge numbers, the Millennial generation now owns the lowest fertility rates of any generation in American history. In fact, the U.S. population has not grown by over one percent since 2002. That is not a good combination for the U.S. economy. In short, many of the workers who are retiring are not being replaced.

So, what do we do to replace those aging out of the workforce? There is only one answer to that question. . .embrace immigration and pass comprehensive immigration reform. Recent legal immigrants are far more educated than the U.S. population. But less-skilled immigrants are equally as important.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 115 million workers in the U.S. were employed in jobs that do not require a Bachelor’s degree. That’s 74 percent of the entire workforce. In addition, about 24 percent of all jobs are those that do not require any educational attainment.

As for the future, it looks like more of the same, according to BLS. In 2026, 73 percent of all jobs — 123 million — will not require a Bachelor’s degree and 24 percent of all jobs will not require any educational attainment.

 

South dominates fastest growing economies ranking
A new ranking by WalletHub ranks the fastest growing local economies based on population gains, GDP and other factors. Fort Myers, Fla., took the No. 1 spot followed by Midland, Pearland, McKinney and College Station in Texas, Lehigh Acres, Fla., and Mount Pleasant, S.C. The cities making the top 10 outside the South were Bend, Ore., and Enterprise, Nev.

Do we import farm workers, or do we import food?
Southern farmers are struggling more than ever to recruit enough migrant laborers. With increased security at the border, mass deportations of the undocumented, refugee admissions at historic lows and cuts in legal immigration, those that farm fruits and vegetables are in dire need of workers. Unlike corn and soybeans, which can be farmed and harvested by machines, most fruits and vegetables must be picked by hand to keep them from bruising. More than half of America’s farmworkers are undocumented immigrants. “We have a situation where we need laborers, and we don’t have the labor we need,” said Will Rodger of the American Farm Bureau in a story by UPI. “Without workers, it is not economically feasible to grow the food at all. We can import workers, or we can import food. It’s really that simple.”

Restrictive visa policies create loss of foreign students at universities nationwide
For decades and over many administrations, the U.S. has been the No. 1 destination for the world’s most talented foreign students. And most of those international students are exactly what the U.S. is lacking; almost 70 percent of them pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). But according to Forbes, “Fewer of the world’s best and brightest are choosing to study at U.S. universities,” mainly because other countries have become more welcoming destinations. In fact, the number of international student visas has dropped by 40 percent in 2017 in the U.S. compared with 2015. All the while, Canada has seen international student enrollment at its universities increase by 20 percent in those two years, and Australia has seen an increase of 13 percent.  

U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are backfiring
According to a report by Business Forward, prices in the U.S. for hot- and cold-rolled steel have risen by 13.5 percent and 8.9 percent respectively since President Trump announced plans for steel and aluminum tariffs in February. As a result, U.S. manufacturers that use the metals in their manufacturing processes are paying 15.8 percent more for steel. While the tariffs have created jobs for steelmakers in the U.S., manufacturers using steel are cutting jobs. According to Business Forward, companies that buy steel in the U.S. employ more than 46 times more workers than companies that produce steel. The Tax Foundation has estimated that the tariffs and higher metal costs will cause GDP to fall by $148 billion, and lost jobs could increase by over 450,000 for manufacturers that use steel in their processes.

Facebook to invest $1 billion in Virginia data center
Facebook will bring more than $1 billion of new investment to Virginia. The social media giant is directly investing $750 million to establish a 970,000-square-foot data center in the White Oak Technology Park in Henrico County. In addition, due to a new renewable energy tariff designed by Dominion Energy Virginia and Facebook, hundreds of millions of additional dollars will be invested in the construction of multiple solar facilities in the Commonwealth to service Facebook’s Henrico Data Center with 100 percent renewable energy.

Deloitte says millions of manufacturing jobs will go unfilled
A study published in the fall quarter from Deloitte showed that millions of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. will go unfilled over the next 10 years. Deloitte projects that a total of 4.6 million jobs will be available in the manufacturing sector by 2028, however, 2.4 million jobs will go unfilled.

Study estimates Amazon’s Virginia HQ2 deal will have an economic impact of over $14 billion
In the fall quarter, Seattle-based Amazon picked Arlington County, Va., for one of its two HQ2s, creating 25,000 jobs in Northern Virginia. Richmond-based Chmura Economics & Analytics published a report that estimates that the project will create $14.2 billion in economic activity and 59,308 jobs in the state, more than doubling the direct jobs in the deal.

Virginia officials executed the Amazon MOU on Monday, Nov. 13; they got the call an hour later
According to the Washington Business Journal, Virginia Economic Development Partnership CEO Stephen Moret was still negotiating with Amazon officials on the morning of November 13. VEDP executed the memorandum of understanding at 1:00 PM on Monday the 13th, and then Commerce and Trade answered the call from Holly Sullivan, the chief site searcher for Amazon, and was told that one of the two sites for HQ2 would be Crystal City, Va. The $2.5 billion deal will create 25,000 jobs in Northern Virginia.  

Study names Charlotte top tech town
CompTIA’s top tech city ranking — based on job opportunities and cost of living—came out in the fall quarter. Charlotte ranked No. 1, followed by Raleigh and Austin. San Jose came in fourth, followed by San Francisco. Dallas-Fort Worth (sixth), Atlanta (ninth) and Huntsville made the top 10 from the South. The D.C./Northern Virginia area where Amazon will locate one of its two new headquarters finished 11th in the study.

Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., are top three markets for relocation
In a report done by Updater, an app for people who are moving, the top three markets for relocating Americans are Washington, D.C.; Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta. New York City came in fourth and Los Angeles came in fifth as the top destinations.

Micron breaks ground on $3 billion Virginia expansion
Micron Technology has broken ground on its $3 billion expansion in Manassas, Va. The expansion represents one of the largest manufacturing investments in the history of Virginia. The semiconductor maker expects to hire 1,100 in the deal.

Proposed LNG terminal in Southwest Louisiana gets closer to launch
Houston-based Tellurian has taken a another step toward starting construction of its $15 billion Driftwood LNG terminal south of Lake Charles, La. Tellurian has entered a MOU with Vitol, a British energy company, to supply 1.5 million metric tons per year of liquefied gas from its proposed terminal.

Lake Charles, La., tops national ranking for job growth
Over the last five years, the Lake Charles, La., metro has seen the nation’s highest job growth at 28.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lake Charles has created a net gain of 24,482 jobs in those five years. The 28.3 percent gain in jobs is almost four times the national rate of 7.2 percent over the past five years.

Houston led nation in job creation in the last year
The nine-county Houston MSA created 117,800 jobs from October 2017 to October 2018. That’s up 3.9 percent, and the largest job growth of any market in the U.S.

North Texas sets record number of deals in 2017
A survey done by the Dallas Business Journal, which came out in the fall quarter, showed North Texas economic development agencies recorded 189 projects in calendar year 2017. In terms of investment totals, the Allen Economic Development Corp. assisted in $1.23 billion in project values. Garland, Texas also saw $1.23 billion in investment in 2017. Arlington came in third with $455 million, followed by Plano ($350 million) and the city of Dallas ($315 million).

Texas unemployment falls to historic low
In October, the unemployment rate in Texas fell to 3.7 percent, a record low for the state, or since governments began measuring data in 1976. In October, 32,300 jobs were created in Texas.

First shipment of LNG out of Texas in December
Texas is now an exporter of liquefied natural gas. In December, a tanker named the Maria Energy departed Cheniere Energy’s Port of Corpus Christi facility with the first shipment of LNG from the state of Texas. Cheniere has been exporting LNG from its first multi-billion dollar facility that it built on the Sabine Pass in Southwest Louisiana in June of 2017. Cheniere is investing up to $13 billion to develop its Corpus Christi LNG terminal.

Aerospace industry continues to grow in Kentucky
Aerospace is Kentucky’s largest export product by value, and that value is increasing. In 2015, the value of all aerospace exports in Kentucky stood at $8.7 billion. In 2016, that rose to $10.8 billion, and the next year it hit $11.7 billion, nearly triple the total of the next largest export sector, which is automotive. This year, aerospace exports in Kentucky have grown by 5.9 percent, meaning they are on pace to top $12 billion.

Lockheed Martin flying high in Orlando and Fort Worth
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a nearly $400 million contract to produce hundreds of air-to-surface missiles for the U.S. Air Force. The work, expected to be completed by October 31, 2021, will be done at the defense giant’s facility in Orlando, Fla. When Lockheed’s Marillyn Hewson met with then president-elect Donald Trump in January 2017 about reducing the costs of the F-35 fighter jet, she made an announcement that would significantly impact the North Texas manufacturing environment. “We are going to increase our jobs in Fort Worth by 1,800 jobs,” Hewson said. (The Fort Worth plant was already the largest manufacturing plant in DFW with an employee count of 13,400 at the time.) Twenty-two months later, Lockheed Martin has exceeded that figure. In fact, the aerospace and defense manufacturer now employs 16,400 people at its massive Fort Worth facility.

Boeing’s $9.2 billion win means hundreds of jobs for Texas and Missouri
A $9.2 billion military jet contract won by Boeing in October will mean hundreds of jobs at an aviation manufacturing facility in Red Oak, Texas, that will be a major supplier for the project. Triumph Group will supply the wing, vertical and horizontal tail structures and other components for the next generation T-X aircraft. Triumph previously estimated Boeing’s receipt of the contract would translate to 950 direct and indirect jobs, but the Dallas Morning News reports officials based that figure on a much larger deal. Chicago-based Boeing, which partnered with Sweden-based Saab to win the work to replace the Air Force’s aging Northrop T-38 Talon fleet, had said last year that the new aircraft would be assembled in St. Louis if it won the competition.

Blue Origin to officially build rocket engines for ULA
In October, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin received word that United Launch Alliance will contract with the company to build rocket engines. Blue Origin announced last year it would build the BE-4 rocket engine manufacturing facility in Huntsville, pending the contract with ULA. ULA assembles the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets at its facility in Decatur, Ala.

TVA to build largest solar farms in Tennessee and Alabama
The Tennessee Valley Authority has contracted with two of the nation’s biggest solar power developers to construct the largest solar installations ever built in Tennessee and Alabama to power Facebook’s new $750 million data center in Huntsville, Ala., with 100 percent renewable energy. First Solar will erect a 227-megawatt solar farm in Colbert County, Ala., and NextEra Energy Resources will build a 150-megawatt solar farm in Lincoln County, Tenn. As a condition of locating in Alabama, Facebooks wanted all of its electricity generated from renewable sources.

Record-setting year for TVA
In the birthplace of the Tennessee Valley Authority where President Roosevelt declared the New Deal agency “a remarkable success” 85 years ago, TVA leaders recently heralded the agency’s continued economic development during a record-setting year for new projects in 2018. TVA’s economic development department worked on business additions or expansions valued at more than $11 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up by more than a third from the previous investment peak in 2014.

Struggling coal towns awarded $26 million
The Appalachian Regional Commission is spreading $26.5 million in awards to nine states to assist struggling coal communities. The commission said in a news release that the money is projected to create or retain more than 5,400 jobs and leverage more than $193 million in private investments in those areas. West Virginia is set to receive about $7.6 million of the grant awards, while Kentucky will receive nearly $3 million and Tennessee about $1.5 million.

Site work begins at Northeast Tennessee aerospace park
Site preparation on the new Tri-Cities Airport’s Aerospace Park began in September. The 160-acre Aerospace Park is adjacent to the airport in Blountville, and being marketed regionally to aerospace companies by city officials in nearby Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City.

All four owners of Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion agree to continue with build-out
Following days of discussion and despite the never-ending increase in the price tag, all four owners of Plant Vogtle agreed to continue the build-out of units 3 and 4 of the multi-billion nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga. Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities own the plant.

Study shows four of the five most affordable retirement markets are in the South
A study done by GOBankingRates found that cost of living is lowest in the U.S. in Birmingham, Ala., for retirees. Average annual cost of living expenses for a retiree in Birmingham are $33,219. The other four cities making the top five were Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Memphis and Augusta, Ga.

Lexington, Ky., is the most affordable city for early retirement
A study by SmartAsset.com that accounted for a city’s tax rates, crime rates and medical facilities, showed that Lexington, Ky., is the most affordable city in the U.S. for early retirement. Lexington beat out Boise, Idaho; Madison, Wisc.; and Plano, Texas. Those cities made up the top five most affordable according to SmartAsset.com.

Port of Gulfport restoration and expansion completed
Hurricane Katrina just about wiped out the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, Miss. But in late November, Mississippi officials cut the ribbon on the completion of the $570 million expansion and restoration of the port. 

Port of Savannah’s 10-year plan doubles container capacity
The Port of Savannah’s 10-year plan calls for nearly doubling its containerized cargo capacity. Executive director Griff Lynch in his annual State of the Port address said that the $2.5 billion plan will add a new rail yard that will double the port’s capacity to move cargo by rail. The investment also includes new equipment, berth improvements and additional roads.

Joint venture purchases Louisiana’s Avondale Shipyard site
The 254-acre Avondale Shipyard near New Orleans is being purchased by Virginia-based T. Parker Host and Illinois-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners. The new entity will be called Avondale Marine. The companies will redevelop the port, and the site could create up to 2,000 jobs. Avondale was once one of the largest private employers in Louisiana with about 26,000 workers.