Louisville ranks as the Southeast’s top manufacturing city, according to the new Kentucky Manufacturers Register, a manufacturers’ directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News Inc. MNI reports Louisville accounts for 65,071 manufacturing jobs, ranking it first in the nine-state region in industrial employment.
Louisville ranks above Atlanta by 5,000 jobs, with the second-ranked city accounting for 60,803 workers. Third-ranked Charlotte is home to 49,957 jobs while Miami and Jacksonville rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with 49,603 and 44,780 jobs.
According to the register, Louisville’s largest industrial employers include two Ford Motor plants with a combined 9,300 employees, GE Consumer with 5,220 workers and Brown Forman Corp., a distillation/bottling plant employing 1,500.
MNI’s five-year study shows Kentucky lost 26,545 jobs since October 2002, but that in recent months the state’s industrial employment appears to have stabilized, losing a negligible 726 manufacturing jobs over the past 12 months. MNI’s regional study shows Kentucky’s neighbors haven’t fared as well in 2006, with Tennessee and Ohio each losing 3 percent manufacturing employment and Indiana losing 1 percent.
“About 20 percent of the state’s industrial jobs are in the motor vehicle industry,” said MNI president Tom Dubin. “Various state income tax credits, and agencies including the Kentucky Economic Development Authority and the Commonwealth Small Business Development Corp. have helped the state attract and retain manufacturing plants.”
Manufacturers’ News reports Kentucky’s top three cities account for 30 percent of the state’s industrial jobs. Lexington is Kentucky’s second-largest manufacturing city with 385 plants and 21,904 jobs. Bowling Green accounts for 160 plants and 12,020 jobs.
The newest data shows that, statewide, Kentucky is home to 6,163 manufacturing companies employing 328,393 workers, and accounts for 8.4 percent of the Southeast’s manufacturing employment. Industrial machinery and equipment is Kentucky’s top industrial producer with 830 manufacturers. Printing and publishing ranks second with 702 manufacturers, while third-ranked lumber and wood products account for 621 plants. These three sectors account for 35 percent of the state’s manufacturers.
Speaking of Louisville, Reliable Plant will hold its annual international "Lean, Reliable and Lubed" conference and exhibition May 15-17 at the Greater Kentucky Convention Center. To learn more about this event, visit www.noria.com, www.reliableplant.com or read upcoming issues of Reliable Plant magazine.
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