Chemical Processing Industry Still Showing Momentum with 33 Grassroot Plants Expected to Start Up in 2009

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Even as news of industrial plant closings seem to fill the headlines, some companies still see enough opportunity to continue with construction of new grassroot plants. As we reach the halfway point of 2009, the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) has already seen 11 grassroot CPI plants start operations this year, with an additional 22 plant startups expected before the close of the year.

A regional breakdown of the new CPI grassroot plant startups shows the Great Lakes region has the largest number of plants that have already begun operations so far this year. Three plants have already begun operations in the region, and another two are planned to begin by the end of this year. These five new plants will create almost 100 jobs. In recent months, the Great Lakes region has probably received more national press about plant closings than any other region of the U.S., particularly because of the problems faced by the automotive industry. These new CPI plants help to paint a slightly better picture for the region in the near future. The only market region expecting to see more new CPI plants open their doors this year is the Southwest region, with a total of nine new CPI plants planned to start up this year, two of which are already operational.

Approximately one third of the CPI plants that will start manufacturing this year are producers of industrial gases. In 2009, 11 industrial-gases plants are expected to become operational, with a combined total investment value (TIV) just over $460 million. In early 2008, Industrial Info's North American Plant Database showed that 18 plants in this segment of the CPI would start up, but as the year progressed, the number was cut sharply as the economy began to take a turn for the worse. More information can be found in the June 2, 2008, article - North American Grassroot Plant Start-Ups See a Dramatic Rise in the Industrial Gases Segment of the CPI for 2008.

The 33 plants that have a 2009 startup date are expected to bring almost 1,700 jobs to North America at a time when jobs are hard to come by. While this number does not balance out the estimated 6,500 layoffs and job losses from the 59 CPI plant closures planned for this year, it does give some hope that the industry is still moving forward, albeit a slower pace.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.