Gulf Coast Continues Leading Role in Grassroot Plant Construction

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The United States' Gulf Coast has long been recognized as a significant growth region even in times of economic uncertainty. The Gulf Coast, representing the coastal stretches of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, is home to nearly 2,400 industrial plants employing more than 420,000 people. As the new year gets underway, many market analysts are beginning to adjust and even second guess their forecast and predictions for what 2008 has in store. If the country as a whole experiences any setback in spending or growth during 2008 as many suspect it might, the Gulf Coast region appears to be set to buck the trend to some degree.

As part of its North American Industrial Database, Industrial Info is tracking more than 700 capital and maintenance projects planned to begin some phase of construction this year with a total investment value (TIV) exceeding $40 billion. At least 90 of those projects are plans for grassroot plants providing the region with another 6,200 or more new jobs and nearly $12 billion in initial investments.

As in the past, the Power Industry is expected to represent one of the largest individual industry investments this year with an overwhelming $11.2 billion identified for 2008 followed by the Chemical Processing, Petroleum Refining, and Terminals industries, plus the newcomer Alternative Fuels. Producers of alternative fuels, primarily biodiesel and ethanol, were once primarily produced in the Midwestern states although demand in the southern regions has propelled annual investments that now exceed $4 billion in planned or proposed project activity this year.

Demand for petrochemicals and olefins continues to follow a successful path with investments in the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) in the region proposed at just more than $5 billion this year. An Industry Alert published last fall titled Gulf Coast Region to Maintain Leading Role in Chemical Processing Industry in 2008 reaffirms the leading role the CPI will play in the region this year. Spending in the refining sector is only slightly more at $5.4 billion this year, although from a much smaller population of plants making the individual projects much larger.

The construction of new or grassroot liquefied natural gas terminals has catapulted the Terminals Industry near the top of the list of biggest spenders in the region during recent years, and another $6.6 billion is forecast for 2008. This huge investment comes from just more then 70 individual projects making its average project TIV nearly twice that of projects in the Power Industry. The activity of this industry in the region is almost exclusively in Texas and Louisiana.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading marketing information services company for the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy-related markets throughout the world. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, IIR provides accurate and timely intelligence featuring plant and project information databases, focused market databases, industry forecasting, key industry contacts, industry and territorial map products, direct marketing services and applications, and daily industry news.