Midwest Region Set for Aggressive Spending During First Quarter 2007

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The outlook for project construction starts in the Midwest region during the first quarter of next year looks promising, in terms of capital investment dollars. During the first three months of 2007, there are currently 116 projects valued at almost $7 billion that are being tracked by Industrial Info that have a kick off date during the first quarter.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of spending by state for the Midwest Region

So far, it appears that the Power Industry is poised to lead all other industry segments in capital spending scheduled to kick off in the first quarter of 2007. In the Midwest there are currently 23 projects and over $2.4 billion in capital spending projected during the first three months of the year. This includes over $725 million devoted to the construction of new windfarms in the region one of which is the 300-megawatt Pine Ridge Windfarm proposed in South Dakota by Invenergy, LLC (Chicago, Illinois). Environmental compliance is also active in the region with $645 million in spending planned for January through March of next year. Minnesota Power (Duluth, Minnesota) is on track to begin installing environmental controls for Boswell Units #3 & #4 in Cohassett, Minnesota.

The Industrial Manufacturing sector is expected to begin construction on over $1.5 billion in project spending during the first quarter of 2007. In the Midwest, the two largest projects in this industry segment are two retooling projects for DaimlerChrysler Corporation (Auburn Hills, Michigan) at plants in Saint Louis, Missouri. Other projects on the books for this region in the Industrial Manufacturing segment include a new intermodal hub center, new distribution centers, plastic molding plants and other durable goods plants.

Driven by the demand for cleaner fuel additives and alternatives, the Alternative Fuels segment is set to commence construction on over $1.4 billion worth of projects spending early next year. The largest project in the region is a $205 million grassroot fuel ethanol plant proposed by Bootheel Agri-Energy, LLC (Sikeston, Missouri). Dial Energy, LLC (Omaha, Nebraska) is proposing to construct a new $200 million biofuels complex near Dodge City, Kansas. Overall, there is close to $1 billion proposed to build new ethanol plants in the Midwest beginning early next year and an additional $300 million expected to be invested towards building new biofuels plants.

Other industries that are expected to invest capital dollars for plant spending during the first quarter of next year include the Pulp Paper and Wood Industry with $835 million, Food & Beverage with $337 million and the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry with $199 million. Not to be left out with healthy spending of their own is the Metals and Minerals Industry with $85 million, Chemical Processing with $31 million and Petroleum Refining with $8 million. There is also expected to be projects beginning construction in the region during the first quarter at Terminals exceeding $ 7 million.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.