Top 20 Industrial Capital Spending Counties List Dominated by Mega-Project Potential, Surprising Maricopa County, Arizona Leads the Way for Lower 48 States

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The bulk of planned industrial capital spending in the U.S. is falling in counties attracting mega-project (projects in the billion dollar range) activity. In many cases, counties not normally known for their industrial prowess are outpacing traditional heavy industrial areas, such as those found in the Great Lakes and Southern industrial regions. In fact, the majority of the counties making the Top 20 Industrial Capital Spending Counties List fall into this category. Of the 3,141 counties or county equivalents that exist in the United States, the Top 20 Industrial Capital Spending Counties are engaged in 410 projects representing over $90 billion in potential capital spending. However, as is the nature of large industrial mega-projects, financing and permitting is never easy to come by. And in many cases an attractive billion-dollar project never moves past the study stage.

Nowhere is this trend more evident than in Alaska. A recent county capital spending analysis reveals that the Alaskan counties of North Slope and Valdez-Cordova beat all comers when comparing planned Total Investment Value (TIV) for planned capital projects. The two Alaskan counties account for almost $17 billion worth of future industrial capital spending. This is mainly due to large scale North Slope natural gas and LNG projects planned in the region.

To view the complete Top 20 Industrial Capital Spending Counties List click on the image at the right.

The third county on the Top 20 list and the leading county in the lower 48 states may come as a surprise to some. It is Maricopa County, Arizona, which registers just under $6.3 billion in potential capital spending projects. Right now, there are 22 projects planned in Maricopa county, including a $2.5 billion petroleum refinery (PEC 43000024), a $2 billion semiconductor plant planned by Intel Corporation in Chandler (PEC 43000412), and a greater than $1 billion rail project for the Valley Metro RPTA in Phoenix (PEC 43000461). According to Industrialinfo.com's Online Plant Directory there are greater than 180 major industrial plants located in Maricopa County.

Following a nation-wide trend for increased pharmaceutical and biotech development, almost a third of the projects in Arizona are pharmaceutical and biotech industry related. These projects representing about $256 million in capital spending include numerous research and development building construction for the University of Arizona in Phoenix, and Arizona State University in Tempe. Also the Arizona Public Service Company is looking at a $350 million upgrade (PEC 43000427) at a nuclear power plant in Tonopah, Arizona.

Rounding out the fourth and fifth spots on the list is Alameda County, California with just over $6 billion in projects and Dallas County, Texas with greater than $5.6 billion in projects.