Great Lakes Region to Spend Over $56 Billion on Construction in 2004

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas) The current forecast for the Great Lakes region indicates that capital spending will top $56 billion on industrial construction projects with a proposed construction start in 2004, making 2004 another banner year for spending.

Once again, the power industry leads the pack with over 100 projects scheduled to commence in 2004, worth an estimated $45 billion. Of those projects, over $17 billion is anticipated to be spent in Illinois on new projects and another $10 billion is proposed for Wisconsin.

Following the power industry, the refining industry, the industrial manufacturing industry, and the pharmaceuticals/biotechnology industry are expected to spend in excess of $2 billion each on proposed construction starts in the region in 2004.

The proposed refining spending is focused around projects in Illinois and Ohio while the industrial manufacturing and biotechnology industries appear to have an even spread of projects across all six Great Lakes region states (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin).

The chemicals and metals & minerals industries will also spend over $1.5 billion each in 2004, with their proposed spending also spread relatively evenly across the six Great Lakes region states.

When its all said and done, the actual spending for 2004 on projects in the Great Lakes region will probably top $60 billion by years end as additional projects will be added to the mix as the year moves on.

For complete coverage of what is happening in the Great Lakes region, not only in proposed project spending, but also in the actual operational plants themselves, click here to view our Great Lakes Online Plant Directory.