North American Industrial Project Spending at $320 Billion for 2012

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The North American Industrial Project Spending Index continues to trend downward after peaking at 43% growth in 2011. This year, the index has dropped from 4% growth in May to 0.38% growth in June. The level of spending this year by North American industrial firms is still at a high level and is currently on-pace with 2011, which was a remarkable year for project construction starts. The index has experienced positive growth for the past 28 months.

Industrial projects, which have started construction or are scheduled to start construction this year, total $320.7 billion, compared to $319.5 billion during the same month in 2011. Oil & Gas, Petroleum Refining, Metals & Minerals, and Food & Beverage are the industries providing growth this year.

Project spending in the Oil & Gas Production Industry has grown significantly this year, especially in the U.S. Southwest and Western Canadian market regions.

For the Food & Beverage Industry, geographic growth markets include the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Northeast, Rockies, Ontario and Mexico. The Great Lakes has the most Food & Beverage project activity in 2012, with $2 billion. Dairy Farmers of America (Kansas City, Missouri) is planning to begin construction of two new dairy processing plants this year, one in Nevada and one in Pennsylvania. These projects total $100 million.

The North American Project Spending Index is a monthly indicator comparing the total investment value of the current year to the previous year, based on actual project construction starts, in order to get a measure of growth or contraction in the industrial market.

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.