New & Expanded Announcements

By Jeff Vedders

We recently analyzed US new facility and expanded facility activity for 2003.  There were a total of 5,427 announcements in 2003.  This compares with 6,645 announcements in 2002, 9,679 announcements in 2001 and 11,602 announcements in 2000.  That means there was a 22% drop in activity from 2002 to 2003, and there was a 53% drop in activity from 2000 to 2003.  All announcements represent an investment of $1 million, 50 employees, or 20,000 sq. ft.

Source: Whittaker Associates, Inc. and Conway Data Scoreboard

Of the 6,645 announcements reported for 2002, 2,720 were new facility announcements while 2,707 were expanded facility announcements.

2002 Top New Facility Announcements Analysis

As can be seen below, most of the top industries dropped off in activity from 2002 to 2003.  Computer and electronic product manufacturing leads all categories with a drop off of 44%.  Although much of the new activity is down, there are still a few categories that remain active and are increasing in activity.  Interestingly, after a drop-off of 78% between 2001 and 2002, building, developing, & general contracting (spec properties) is up nearly 96% over 2002 levels.  Truck transportation facilities and wholesale trade, nondurable goods are up over 2002 levels.

Source: Whittaker Associates, Inc. and Conway Data Scoreboard

2002 Top Expanded Facility Announcements Analysis

As with the new announcements, most of the top industries dropped significantly in activity from 2002 to 2003.  Printing and related support activity, machinery manufacturing, and wholesale trade, durable goods lead all categories with drop offs of 35%, 34% and 34% respectively.  Categories showing a significant increase include building, developing, & general contracting and truck transportation (558% and 100%).

Source: Whittaker Associates, Inc. and Conway Data Scoreboard