U.S. Manufacturing Plant Closures Continue as Companies Increase Operational Efficiencies

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is currently tracking 81 active plant closures in the North American Industrial Manufacturing Industry, requiring spending of approximately $196 million.

Click on image at right for a breakdown by market region of active Industrial Manufacturing plant closures in North America.

While few people would suggest that the economic fallout of the Great Recession was, on the whole, a positive occurrence, manufacturers learned some valuable lessons: Company spending is being watched more carefully, and manufacturers have discovered various means of cutting costs. For better or worse, one lesson learned is that production and standards can be streamlined using fewer workers, often at fewer facilities.

From the manufacturing of automobiles and automobile parts to carpet and rug manufacturing, to the rapidly declining printing sector, no industry seems safe from the current round of closures.

In the past seven years, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) has closed plants in New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan, Virginia and Missouri. Ford Motor Company is planning to close two more plants in Ontario and Minnesota. Ford's 2.6 million-square-foot assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, opened in 1967. The plant is scheduled to cease production this year. The assembly plant produces models based on the Panther platform, which includes the Ford Crown Victoria, the Ford Police Interceptor and the Lincoln Town Car. Approximately 1,400 jobs will be lost as a result of the plant closure. Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant has been in operation since 1924. The plant currently manufactures the Ford Ranger pickup truck and the Mazda B-Series. Ford originally announced plans to close the plant in 2008, but then changed its mind, indicating that the plant would remain open through the end of 2011.

Ford is an example of a company that is making accommodations to consolidate operations where feasible. Ford and companies in almost all sectors of the Industrial Manufacturing Industry continue to strive for ways to maintain production levels using more streamlined methods.

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