The U.S. Gulf Coast Employs over 400,000 Industrial Jobs

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Portions of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida make up the U.S. Gulf Coast region and are home to over 2,400 industrial process plants that employ over 460,000 people. This region represents only six percent of the nation's plant population, but is the home to some of the largest petrochemical and petroleum refineries in North America.

Click the image to the right to view a table of plant counts by territory including the employee count for each.

The largest industrial sector in terms of employment for the Gulf Coast is the industrial manufacturing sector with approximately 180,000 employees. Although, the industrial manufacturing sector has the highest plant count in this region with 540 plants, the chemical processing sector runs a close second place, with over 490 plants, employing over 108,000 people. The chemical processing sector was scheduled to begin construction of approximately $850 million in capital and maintenance projects in the second quarter of this year.

Despite the above reference to the size and magnitude of spending in both Industrial Manufacturing and Chemical plants, Industrialinfo.com reported in a recent IIR Industry Alert titled Gulf Coast Industrial Complex Boasts 2Q03 Capital Project Value Exceeding $40 Million per Project, that the petroleum refining industry represented 70% of the total spending planned for second quarter of this year. Considering there are fewer than 90 petroleum refineries along the Gulf Coast, this sector stands out as a leader in per plant capital spending for the region.