Area Spotlights

Fifty-six counties and parishes define the U.S. shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, simultaneously dishing up the Gulf’s bounty and taking what it dishes out. Between October 2009 and October 2011, Greater Houston’s Harris County showed the most new plant and expansion activity among those jurisdictions by a very long shot, followed by Baldwin County, Ala., a slew of Louisiana parishes, and Pinellas County in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Brookings Institution's December 2011 MetroMonitor report includes Detroit and Grand Rapids in its list of the 20 metros with the strongest economic recoveries, crediting growth in manufacturing activity, particularly associated with production of autos, auto parts and related durable goods.

Pennsylvania-based stainless steel and premium alloy manufacturer Carpenter Technology Corp. in October chose a 230-acre (93-hectare) site near the Limestone County, Alabama, municipality of Athens, in the Huntsville metro area, for a US$500-million new plant that will make premium alloy products.

In late September, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new agreements with Intel, IBM, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, TSMC and Samsung that will result in US$4.4 billion of investments over the next five years to create the next generation of computer chip technology. The state said the investments were secured in competition with countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

A strong logistics network and vibrant cities drive growing global companies to thrive in Washington.

Two homegrown Omaha companies — TD Ameritrade and CSG Systems International — are building new headquarters campuses in their home town, adding hundreds of thousands of square feet of new work space to Nebraska’s chief commercial center. Both are consolidating operations from multiple locations around the metro — five locations in TD Ameritrade’s case.

Ohio River Corridor: Collection Points

When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently rated Montana the No. 1 state for business startups and the sixth best business climate in the nation, the news may have surprised some people.

State reaches new Amazon deal; automotive cluster grows.

Technology is pushing wind turbines higher and putting them into all sorts of new locations, including on top of skyscrapers, data centers and big-box retailers.

Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada lure high-tech firms seeking access to Western markets.

It didn’t take long for the Bioscience Connecticut initiative to bear fruit.

North Dakota’s economy is pulsating, thanks in large part to the Bakken shale oil boom, which has made the state the fourth largest oil-producing state.

With exports and alternative energy production rising in Nevada, the economic prospects of the Silver State glow with the golden hue of sunnier times.

Innovation spawns fast-growing companies.

Unemployment is at 12 percent in California. gavin newsom

San Antonio and its municipal utility join forces to establish a clean technology cluster.

New investments keep Pennsylvania green.

The colossal data centers racking up in Western North Carolina have not gone unnoticed in the server world.

The center of a tornado is characterized by a dramatic drop in pressure. It’s the twister’s aftermath that brings high pressure to bear.

Dean Sbragia had been in the medical products distribution business for 23 years when his company, Med-Fit Systems, purchased the commercial assets of fitness equipment builder Nautilus in February 2010.

The U.S. Midwest is neither the unemployment capital of the U.S. any longer nor a manufacturing wasteland littered with shells of businesses that moved to China. Many certainly did move operations there, but that’s changing.

In a recent interview with Site Selection, Maria Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, outlined her team’s economic development strategy and addressed other key trends in Arkansas.

It may be early in the season for county fairs, but it’s not hard to find job fairs in Louisiana