Energy, Other Key Industries in Less Metropolitan U.S. States Feel COVID-19's Economic Sting

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--COVID-19 is continuing its deadly trek across the U.S., with the daily number of confirmed fatalities recently spiking in states as varied as California, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Montana and Oregon. While those first three states have been seeing heavy numbers for well over a month, the latter three states have been a bit more surprised by their surge in cases. Industrial Info is tracking more than $4.7 billion worth of active projects in Arkansas, Montana and Oregon that have been delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19 precautions, with the hardest-hit sectors being power generation, automotive and paper products.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing projects in Arkansas, Montana and Oregon that have been delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19 precautions, by industry.

Click here for a full list of affected projects in these three states.

In some of the less densely populated states, the mortality rate jumped statistically, but is still much lower than most other states in its actual number of lives lost. Montana, for instance, has only seen 66 deaths and a little more than 4,500 confirmed cases to date, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But growing concerns about the virus can keep crucial projects from kicking off as planned, affecting small communities that often turn to them for employment and tax revenue.

Upper Badlands Wind Development LLC's (Glendive, Montana) $400 million Upper Badlands Windfarm in Lindsay, Montana, already has been delayed for several months. The 320-megawatt (MW) project had been planned to begin construction in the first quarter of this year, but will not kick off until second-quarter 2021 at the earliest; the projected completion has been pushed back from the end of 2020 to first-quarter 2022. The company believes the project would produce enough energy to power 140,000 homes each year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Also in Montana, Denbury Resources Incorporated (NYSE:DNR) (Plano, Texas) has delayed planning and construction of its estimated $20 million CO2 pipeline, running from Fallon County into North Dakota. The project, which will not kick off until first-quarter 2021 at the earliest, is designed to carry 180 million cubic feet per day of CO2 about 18 miles from ExxonMobil's (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) plant in Shute Creek and ConocoPhillips's (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas) Lost Cabin plant in Montana, to Denbury's enhanced oil recovery site in Bowman County, North Dakota. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Oregon was ready to see Daimler AG (Stuttgart, Germany) begin construction on an estimated $570 million electric truck plant in Portland in March, before the project was pushed back indefinitely. The facility, which currently produces diesel freightliners, was preparing to convert its output to electric freightliners. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Arkansas, like several other states in the U.S. South, has seen a sudden spike in both confirmed cases and confirmed deaths, recently passing 46,000 and 500, respectively. The Pulp & Paper Industry, which directly and indirectly employs more than 66,000 people and adds $6.4 billion to the state's economy, saw a major project cancelled earlier this year due to COVID-19 concerns: Shandong Sun Paper's (Jining, China) estimated $1.8 billion linerboard mill in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, which would have produced 700,000 tons per year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

A smaller paper project, Domtar Corporation's (NYSE:UFS) (Fort Mill, South Carolina) $300 million conversion of a mill in Ashdown, Arkansas, was set to kick off in the spring of 2023, but already has been pushed back to April 2024 at the earliest. The project, which has not yet received a final investment decision, would have switched the facility's product from uncoated freesheet to containerboard. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.