First Quarter 2007 North American Industrial Project Activity Up Compared to 2006

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Industrial project activity is up for the first quarter of 2007 when compared to 2006, according to Industrial Info’s North American Project Spending Index, which compares the number and magnitude of active industrial projects in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The Project Spending Index is a monthly indicator, comparing current year to previous year total investment value based on actual project construction starts, in order to get a measure of growth or contraction in the industrial market. The index takes into consideration project spending activity in twelve vertical industries: Power, Terminals, Oil & Gas Transmission, Oil & Gas Production, Alternative Fuels, Petroleum Refining, Chemical Processing, Metals & Minerals, Pulp, Paper, & Wood, Food & Beverage, Industrial Manufacturing, and Pharmaceutical & Biotech.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the change in percentage growth of North American project spending by month.

As can be seen from the chart, industrial project spending is up over 30% for each month in the first quarter of 2007 when compared to 2006. Currently, Industrial Info is tracking $308 billion in North American industrial project spending across all twelve industries. For the March 2007 update, project spending is up 32.33% when compared to March 2006. The industries with the largest percentage of growth when compared to last year at this time are Alternative Fuels (1,145%), Oil & Gas Transmission (212%), and Petroleum Refining (120%). Industries showing a drop in percentage growth include Oil & Gas Production (-31%) and Chemical Processing (-22%).

Alternative Fuels is showing explosive growth as a record number of new grassroot plants begin construction. The Oil & Gas Transmission Industry is showing considerable new construction of pipeline and compressor station infrastructure.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) provides marketing communication services ranging from industrial database solutions to market forecasting, custom analytics, and specialty promotions that support high-level image campaigns.