Ontario Tops in Spending for Automotive Industry in 2006

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Ontario continues to be the location of choice for automotive industry investment. The region is home to almost 200 automotive-related operational manufacturing plants, including assembly plants and tier suppliers, employing over 115,000 people.

In 2006, there have been 56 automotive projects representing over $2 billion that began construction in the province of Ontario. Of the 56 projects, 35 were capital expenditures, and the remaining 20 were maintenance shutdown expenditures. The total spending for 2006 was slightly higher than 2005’s $1.9 billion in spending on 15 projects. Looking at the 20,000 foot view, automotive industry investments for North America in 2006 topped $7.19 billion on 452 projects. Over 27% of the money spent in 2006 was invested in Ontario.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of automotive spending by country.

There were many more projects in 2006 compared with 2005, but the total investment value was nearly the same. This is due to General Motors $2.5 million Beacon Project, which includes expansion and retool projects that kicked off last year across Canada. There were several large projects this year, but not nearly as many. The most expensive project is Toyota’s $950 million grassroot assembly plant. The 1.3 million square foot plant will manufacture up 150,000 RAV4 sport utility vehicles annually. Ground was broken in late 2006 and construction will continue until 2008. General Motors is continuing to make significant investments in the province as well as DaimlerChrysler.

Ontario will continue to be a location of choice for many companies in the automotive industry in 2007 as well. As of now there is over $1.3 billion on the books to be invested in Ontario in 2007. This number is almost certain to increase, with new assembly plants and plant expansions underway this will cause suppliers to locate nearby or expand existing plants in the area.

Ontario’s proximity to southeast Michigan, its educated workforce, and an abundance of local colleges and universities for research and development opportunities have helped to attract automakers and suppliers to the region over the past several years and will continue to do so in the future as well.

For more information on the automotive industry, both in Canada as well as the United States and Mexico, investigate Industrial Info’s Automotive Database. This comprehensive database of the automotive industry provides access to the plants and spending of not only the OEM automakers, but also the tier suppliers as well.

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.