Midwest Market Region Flush with More than $2.3 Billion in Planned Food & Beverage Industry Expenditures

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Despite severe drought conditions that have affected most states west of the Mississippi River and caused commodity prices to skyrocket, the Food and Beverage Industry, particularly in the Midwest market region, is showing optimism on capital expenditures. Industrial Info is currently tracking more than $2.3 billion in industry project expenditures in the Midwest, which includes North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri.

There are 181 major capital and maintenance projects that are being developed or under construction throughout the region, with scheduled construction start dates as far out as October 2014. The investment value of individual projects ranges from $500,000 to $250 million.

Project activity reported for the first time since January 2012 shows 168 projects with a combined investment value of $1.45 billion.

Grassroot construction activity comes to just more than $1 billion and will result in 33 new plants and facilities.

From a geographical standpoint, North Dakota is where most of the project activity is taking place, with 49 projects that combine for $529 million in expenditures. Minnesota and Missouri round out the top three states with figures of 35 projects worth $234 million and 27 projects worth $365 million, respectively.

The Great Lakes region ranks first in the U.S. in number of projects and total investment value, with more than 233 projects worth $3.8 billion. When compared to the nine market regions that comprise the U.S., the Midwest region ranks second.

There are more than 765 major operational plants across the seven-state region that process, manufacture and distribute food and beverage products. Some of the facility owners include AG Processing Incorporated, Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) (Decatur, Illinois), ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) (Omaha, Nebraska), Cargill and General Mills Incorporated (NYSE:GIS) (Minneapolis, Minnesota).

Industrial Info's database of active capital and maintenance expenditures in the Food and Beverage Industry across North America and the sugar processing industry and water desalination segment worldwide has current expenditures of $41.6 billion and more than 1,750 active projects.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, 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.