Rocky Mountain Region’s Plant Closure Rate Drops by 83% in Past Five Years

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The Rocky Mountain region has continued to show a steady decline in the number of plant closures for 2006 when compared to previous years. This year, 23 plants have either closed, or are scheduled to close sometime within the remaining two months (Reference: PECWeb Direct). Industrial Manufacturing and the Food and Beverage Industries are at the top of the list, with eight plants scheduled to close this calendar year.

The decrease in plant closures becomes more apparent as each year passes, with 28 plants closing in 2005 versus 42 plants in 2002. These numbers may seem like a small fraction when compared to the overall 2,100 operational plants located within the Rocky Mountain region, but the plant closure rate has been reduced by 22% from last year and a massive 83% from 2002. With this positive trend continuing as the decade moves forward, it remains to be seen as 2007 begins as to whether the trend will continue.

Comparatively, out of the nine regions in North America (Reference: OPD Database), the Rocky Mountain region is the second smallest, in terms of operational plants, placing just ahead of New England with over 1,600 facilities. However, that ranking does not seem relevant when considering the number of jobs that were affected and lost over the past two years. An estimated 3,430 dropped in 2005 along with 2,666 in 2006 bringing the total to an astronomical 6,096 individuals feeling the brunt when these plants ceased operations.

Although it is inevitable that production plants will continue to close over the years, it is important to remember that literally, in this case, when one door is closed another one opens may prove to be more than just a phrase for the 2,666 employees involved this year. With the 33 plants that have already come online this year and more following before year’s end, an estimated 4,316 new potential jobs could be brought to the area. This is an increase of 62% over the number of jobs that have been affected in the plant closures.

As featured in Industrial Info’s Rocky Mountain Region Online Plant Directory, the region is home to over 2,100 operational industrial plants in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Industrial Manufacturing group has 346 operational plants to date with the Food & Beverage Industry close behind with 335 manufacturing sites. Collectively, all of the plants in the region are forecast to invest over $17 billion for capital projects in 2006. Click on the image at right to try out a free demo of the Rocky Mountain Online Plant Directory.

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.