Value of Industrial Project Starts in North America at $150 Billion for 2009

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The year-end numbers are in and, surprisingly enough, project spending in the industrial marketplace was down only 3.28% in 2009. According to the December update of Industrial Info's North America Industrial Project Spending Index, the industrial projects beginning construction in 2009 were valued at about $150 billion, which is down 3.28% from 2008 figures of $155 billion.

Click on the image at right to view a breakdown of 2009 project starts for North America.

While still a decline from 2008, the realized project starts did not experience as sharp a decline as was expected. This can be primarily attributed to a handful of hot geographies and industries that witnessed some big project construction starts in 2009, boosting the declines in other geographies and industry. For example, one of the bright spots in 2009 was the polysilicon industry, which had expansions and grassroot plants begin construction as a result of greater demand for the product. Two grassroot polysilicon plants began construction in Tennessee last year, including the $1.2 billion Hemlock silicon project in Tennessee.

The U.S. was particularly hard hit by the recession and saw an 11.2% decline for industrial construction starts for the year. Canada and Mexico both showed increases of 28% and 133%, respectively, lessening the impact on the overall North American index.

In the U.S., increases in project starts were realized in the Northeast and Rocky Mountain Regions, while all other regions experienced declines. The Northeast Region, which consists of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, experienced a 59% increase, from $9.5 billion in 2008 to $15.1 billion in 2009.

The Rocky Mountain Region, which consists of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, experienced a 39% increase from $13.3 billion in 2008 to $18.5 billion in the value of project starts for 2009.

Canada experienced increases in all regions, including Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Western Canada, except Ontario which had a 51% decline in activity.

Mexico showed strong industrial project activity, with $6.4 billion in project starts, up 133% from $2.7 billion in 2008.

Looking ahead to 2010, Industrial Info is currently tracking more than $400 billion in industrial projects. Check out Industrial Info's recently released 2010 Global Industrial Outlook for details.

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.