Click on the image to see an analysis of first-quarter project spending during the first quarter of 2008 in the Industrial Manufacturing Industry.While overall spending has been declining, the downward trend has not been as significant as many analysts feared it could have been, especially when you consider that the nation has been sliding into the early stages of a recession over the course of the last half year. The first large drop in spending within the Industrial Manufacturing sector is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2008, and we will have to see whether that decline continues into subsequent quarters.
For the first quarter of the year, however, the Rocky Mountain region received the largest portion of the capital and maintenance project work that occurred. With spending topping $2.4 billion during the quarter (11 projects), the region maintained a healthy $600 plus million lead over its next closest competition, the Great Lakes region, which has spending of more than $1.7 billion during the quarter. The Great Lakes region had a larger number of projects reach the completion stage during the quarter, 88 in total, the largest of any region in the U.S.
After the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes, there was a significant dropoff in total spending by region. The Southeast region managed a mere $619 million in spending while boasting the second-highest project total at 52. Rounding out the top five spending regions for the first quarter were the Midwest region with $500 million in spending over 32 projects and the Northeast region at $476 million with 35 projects.
Some of the key projects that completed construction during the quarter include a $322 million transmission plant expansion in Michigan, a $300 million automotive assembly plant retool in Missouri, a $200 million grassroot printing and mailing plant in Florida, and a $168 million semiconductor plant expansion in California.
While spending has been slowly decreasing during the last few quarters, the nation is entering a recession, and contraction is inevitable. Spending numbers over those same quarters have still been healthy. Although they have not been as significant as some of the quarters in the recent past, $7 billion to $8 billion in total spending is nothing to sneeze at. Jobs are still being created, although not as many as have been lost during the same period. The prime construction months are just beginning now and hopefully spending will remain steady throughout the summer and into the fall. 2008 will not be a banner spending year for the Industrial Manufacturing Industry, but significant spending will still occur, giving hope that the recession will end swiftly.
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