Texas high-speed train named one of the most important infrastructure projects in the world
In the winter quarter, CG/LA named the proposed Texas high-speed train one of the top infrastructure projects in the world. CG/LA’s report selects projects with widespread and strategic importance in 30 different countries. The new high-speed train project will link Houston to Dallas-Fort Worth when completed. Nearly 50,000 Texans, sometimes called “super-commuters,” travel back and forth between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth more than once a week. The new high-speed rail will utilize the N700 bullet train available in Japan (shown here) to transport riders between the cities in 90 minutes.

U.S. population growth hits 80-year low
Census data published in the winter quarter showed that the U.S. population grew from 2017 to 2018 by just 0.62 percent. The growth is the lowest registered since 1937, or in the last 80 years. Nearly a fifth of all states lost population over the past two years.

U.S. trade deficit hit a record in 2018
According to a report published in March by the U.S. Commerce Department, the U.S. trade deficit in goods hit a record high of $891.3 billion in 2018. The high deficits are a blow to President Trump’s trade policies that were supposed to lower the deficit. As imports jumped, some exports such as automobiles, soybeans and farm products “got hammered” according to The Wall Street Journal by retaliation tariffs from Europe and Asia. The trade gaps with China and Mexico also set records.

Manufacturing added more jobs than any year in the last 30 years
The U.S. manufacturing sector posted net job gains of 284,000 in calendar year 2018. That is the largest increase since 1997. In December, the manufacturing sector added 32,000 jobs. Most of the gains were in durable goods, such as machinery, furniture, automotive and aerospace. The nation created a net gain of 207,000 manufacturing jobs in 2017.

Manufacturing jobs up for 18 straight months
American factories are hiring again, more so than at any time since the mid-1990s. After years of job losses as a result of a lack of competitiveness and automation, manufacturers in the U.S. have hired a net gain of employees for 18 consecutive months. Employment in the manufacturing sector peaked at 19.6 million in 1979. It is 12.8 million today. The sector hit its low of 11.5 million in 2010.

The South dominates Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities ranking
For the second consecutive year, Provo, Utah, with its large high-tech sector, job and wage growth, is the Best Performing City in the U.S., according to the Milken Institute. But Raleigh, N.C., came in second and Dallas third. Rounding out the top 10 are San Francisco, Fort Collins, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Nashville, Orlando, Austin and Salt Lake City.

FERC approves construction of LNG export facility in Southwest Louisiana
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the Venture Global LNG export facility in Calcasieu Pass near Lake Charles, La. Spokespersons for the company said they will begin construction on the multi-billion-dollar facility immediately. The plant will be built on a 1,000-acre site where the Calcasieu Ship Channel meets the Gulf of Mexico. The facility will deliver low cost liquefied natural gas to customers around the globe.

U.S. industry groups send appeal to Trump to end U.S. metals tariffs
Four dozen U.S.-based industry groups sent a letter of appeal to the Trump administration in January asking to put an end to the steep U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The appeal centered on the metal tariffs creating economic hardship for those who use imported metal for final assembly of a variety of products, including automotive and aerospace. The industries are also suffering from the retaliation of tariffs by Mexico, European nations and China.

Overcome by paperwork, Texas steel products manufacturers just hanging on as tariffs cut deep into their profits
Texas oil and gas pipe firms are filling out government paperwork in attempts to get exemptions from 25 percent tariffs on foreign steel imposed by President Donald Trump. One steel manufacturer in Texas has filled out 500 exclusion requests to the U.S. Department of Commerce since tariffs have been imposed, most of which have not been processed. Why 500 exclusion requests? To get around the tariffs, companies must fill out exemptions for every grade of steel they need from foreign suppliers. In the meantime, the Texas company has lost 25 percent of its customer base as prices for the company’s pipe have risen as a result of the tariffs. According to government data, nearly four out of five exemption requests filed by Texas companies have not been processed by the Commerce Department. When the steel tariffs were approved in March 2018, Commerce expected about 4,500 exemption requests each year. Instead, Commerce has been inundated by the formal requests, receiving more than 66,000 in the first year. One of the reasons Texas pipe companies have been losing so much business is that many of their customers are international firms who can buy steel from other countries to avoid the tariffs.

Solar energy losing jobs
The solar energy industry had a banner year in 2016, where the share of employment in the electric power sector rose to 43 percent. Compared to the whole of the fossil fuel industry (at 22 percent), solar jobs were the fastest growing in the entire sector. Trump’s tariffs ended that run. Since the U.S. put a 30 percent tariff on foreign-produced solar panels two years ago, the solar industry in the U.S. lost 10,000 jobs in 2017, followed by a loss of 8,000 solar sector jobs in 2018.

Massive solar power project for Google’s data centers in Northern Alabama and Tennessee
Google is working with TVA to deploy 1.6 million solar panels to power two huge Google data centers in Alabama and Tennessee. The solar farms will be located in Hollywood, Ala., and Yum Yum, Tenn. The sites will be among the largest energy projects in the Tennessee Valley region and the largest ever to be built for Google.

Fewer international students are enrolling at U.S. universities
Fewer international students are enrolling at U.S. universities. At the same time, the Trump administration is planning a new regulation that would make it tougher for those same students to attend college. Currently, international students can work 12 months in the U.S. on the Optional Practical Training program (OPT) and an additional 24 months on STEM OPT if they earn degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Canada has far more options for foreign students to work in that country. The Trump administration’s DHS agenda has initiated restricting or eliminating OPT or STEM OPT beginning this year or next year. The regulation states, “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will propose this rule to improve protections of U.S. workers who may be negatively impacted by employment of non-immigrant students on F and M visas.”

Labor unions call on Congress to pass programs to protect immigrants
A coalition of big labor unions called on Congress to pass expansions on programs to protect immigrants with temporary work permits. Led by the AFL-CIO, more than 30 unions sent a letter to Congress asking for protections for “Dreamers” (immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as minors) and beneficiaries of two humanitarian immigration programs — temporary protected status (TPS) and deferred enforced departure (DED). “For the labor movement, these programs have been vital in ensuring that thousands of working people have rights on the job and the freedom to negotiate together for fair pay and working conditions,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. More than 300,000 people have TPS protections in the U.S., which allows them to legally live and work. In a period when labor is incredibly tight, the Trump administration has cut back TPS protections and has let DED expire.

Northwest Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base to be rebuilt as “Air Base of the Future”
After taking a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, Tyndall Air Force base near Panama City, Fla., is somewhat operational, with some unmanned F-16 jets flying again. The Air Force said in the winter it will rebuild Tyndall to be the “air base of the future.” Officials said the rebuilt base will be safe from storm surge and winds up to 180 miles per hour. The expected cost of the rebuild is $3 billion.

Warren Buffett discusses “disaster” contributing to California exodus in CNBC interview
During the winter quarter, the billionaire Warren Buffet warned companies looking to expand or relocate to states that suffer from unfunded public pensions while describing California’s situation a “disaster.” California’s unfunded public pensions, Buffett said, will be paid by taxpayers in that state in one way or another. He also said that investing in a plant or business in an unfunded pension state will ultimately mean the business, as well as its workers, will at some point be on the hook to pay for the public pensions.

Want a house or condo near Amazon’s HQ2 in Northern Virginia? Forget it!
According to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, there are exactly seven active listings in the third week of March in zip code 22202. There were 21 available properties there a year ago. This is the area that encompasses Arlington Ridge, Crystal City, Pentagon City and Aurora Hills, Va. It is also the zip code where Amazon’s HQ2 is being built. The 22202 housing inventory plummeted 84 percent since November, when Amazon announced it had selected what they are now branding as National Landing in Arlington County. The lack of listings near Amazon’s HQ2 means that sellers are waiting on the company to complete its project before selling at much higher prices.

Mississippi unemployment reaches all-time low
According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, at 4.7 percent, the unemployment rate in Mississippi is at an all-time low. In addition, the number of people with jobs has hit a historic high. The 4.7 percent unemployment rate has now been recorded for eight consecutive months. Over 1.16 million Mississippians are working, the second highest number ever recorded in the state.

Alabama job growth sets record
In 2018, Alabama saw record job growth, posting a 2.2 percent gain for year-over-year. That percentage outpaced the nation’s job growth rate of 1.8 percent in 2018. Economic projections for job growth in 2018 were at 27,000; however, the state saw a net increase of 44,300 jobs. Alabama total employment also set a record in December with 2,072,600 people employed in the state.

Louisville, Ky., airport adopts new name
Louisville’s Airport Authority has changed the name of its airport from the Louisville International Airport to the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in honor of the late boxing legend. Ali is Louisville’s most famous native son.

Texas maintains No. 1 standing on U-Haul’s annual top 50 growth states
Texas is still the No. 1 in-migration state. U-Haul generated migration data from over 2 million one-way truck rental transactions in 2018 to determine which states are considered “growth states,” and then ranks them. Texas saw a 5 percent increase in one way U-Haul truck rentals arriving in the state over 2017. North Texas and the Austin area led the state in one-way truck traffic.

Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston add most construction jobs
In calendar year 2018, Dallas-Fort Worth added 22,000 construction jobs, the most of any market in the country. Houston came in second with 19,400 construction jobs gained according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Dallas also led the entire nation for employment growth in 2018, adding more than 116,000 jobs.

The rush to Austin by Silicon Valley companies kicks into high gear
In the last two quarters, Apple is investing $1 billion into new facilities and thousands of jobs in Austin. Google and Facebook are also taking up tons of space in Austin’s newest office towers. KPMG recently conducted a survey that showed that the Silicon Valley may be in danger of losing its title as tech center of the world. Sixty percent of those tech executives that were surveyed said that by 2023, Silicon Valley will lose its grip on the world’s technology innovation center, mostly as a result of the high costs of doing business there.

Texas exports fall 41 percent, import costs spike because of tariffs
Businesses in Texas paid $364 million in tariffs on imported products in October 2018, according to federal data and Trade Partnership Worldwide. Texas businesses spent only $25 million in tariffs in April 2018. Meanwhile, Texas exports subject to retaliatory tariffs were down 41 percent in October 2018 compared to October 2017. In addition, exports subject to retaliatory tariffs going through Port Houston were down 47 percent in October 2018, while those not subject to retaliation were up 34 percent.

American whiskey exports take a dive
American whiskey brands, including Kentucky bourbon exports, have dropped since President Trump initiated tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum last year. The European Union, China, Mexico and Canada retaliated with 25 percent tariffs on various American-made products, including whiskey. American whiskey exports rose 28 percent during the first half of 2018, then fell 8 percent compared to 2017 the second half of last year. It should be noted that in the last decade, the Kentucky distilling industry has added more than 10,000 new jobs, opened more than 40 new distilleries and increased economic output by more than $3 billion.

Arlington County, Va., wins “Best City” award
Arlington, Va., once again has been ranked as the “Best City to Live in America” by Niche. The website named Arlington best city for its outstanding public schools, abundant night life, low crime rate and walkability. Niche also named Arlington as the top city in 2016. The county is where Amazon is placing its HQ2 and hiring at least 25,000 workers in the process.

University of Kentucky researchers finding new use for coal
A research team from the University of Kentucky has begun a pilot-scale processing plant in Webster County, Ky., that will work on mining rare earth elements from coal. The U.S. Department of Energy is also conducting research regarding the feasibility of extracting rare earth elements from coal. Rare earth elements are found in the earth’s crust and are used in manufacturing products such as smartphones, televisions, computer monitors and electric vehicles. Rare earth elements are found mostly in China.

SpaceX will build its most powerful rocket in Florida and Texas
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in March that the company will build its Starship and Super Heavy rockets in Boca Chica, Texas and Cape Kennedy, Fla. The 387-foot, two-stage rocket will cost about $5 billion to develop and the first flight is expected in 2023.

Orlando setting pace for jobs in Florida
From January 2018 to January 2019, greater Orlando led all Florida markets with a gain of 49,900 jobs. South Florida came in second with 30,000 new jobs and Tampa Bay placed third with 19,300 jobs year-over-year.

Aiken, S.C., named to top 10 in magazine’s best small towns in the South
Southern Living magazine’s  new annual ranking of best small towns has been released. Named best small town in the South last year, Aiken saw its ranking drop to No. 4. The winner of this year’s “Best Small Town in the South” was Beaufort, N.C., followed by Beaufort, S.C., and St. Augustine, Fla.