Industrialinfo.com Tracking $5.3 Billion in Project Spending for 2005 in the Food & Beverage Industry

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated Houston, Texas). According to data extracted from Industrialinfo.com's project spending database, the Food & Beverage industry is projected to spend about $5.3 billion during the 2005 calendar year on new construction, plant expansions, and maintenance related projects.

Currently, 462 projects are active in North America in the Food & Beverage industry and 66 projects scheduled to kick-off in 2004 have been re-scheduled to begin in 2005. The majority of 2004 projects being re-scheduled are in the meat industry, pushing roughly $219 million in spending out until the 2005 calendar year.

Due to the continued bans on exporting beef to foreign markets, the industry is experiencing an overabundance of capacity. New plant construction and expansion activity is expected to pick up once Canadian beef is allowed back into the U.S. and Asian markets lift the American beef bans.

Mid-Year Gap Measurement - By June of 2005, $3.05 billion in project activity was added to the 2005 Construction Year compared to only $1.43 billion in project activity added during the same period for 2004.

According to the gap measurement graph, some $3.9 billion have been spent in the Food & Beverage industry during the first six months of 2005. The chart also indicates construction activity is at its peak during the prime construction months of the spring, summer, and early fall. Spending is also ahead of early year projections by some 130% due to the rescheduling of projects scheduled to kick off in 2004.

One of the most noticeable spending trends is in the food distribution and storage sector of the industry, as companies continue to consolidate distribution and logistics issues in the wake of the mega-mergers that took place in 2004. Some 50 projects are currently underway or planned in storage and distribution for 2005, with $750 million projected in capital spending.

243 projects are scheduled to begin during the remaining six months of this year, representing $2.7 billion in spending. Jay Brunson, Industrialinfo.com's Food and Beverage industry manager adds, "During the course of the year, we identify a lot of projects that have short construction duration periods due to the nature of the Food & Beverage Industry. The average project ranges from $4 to 6 million and is completed in several months. These are projects like new process and packaging lines or line expansions, retooling, warehouse additions, and so forth that can be done in a short amount of time. There is not a whole lot of these projects being cancelled or delayed because of the competitiveness that takes place in the industry."

Industrial Information Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 22 years. IIR is respected as a leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.