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FROM SITE SELECTION
MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE
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ASIA
Vietnam’s Industrial Real Estate Conundrum
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INVESTMENT PROFILE: MARYLAND
In Maryland, the time is right for drones.
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CONWAY ANALYTICS
SNAPSHOT
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Vermont has the lowest per-household credit card debt and overall credit
card debt. Photo by Ellen Curran and
Dennis Curran courtesy of Vermont Tourism
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The latest report from WalletHub looks at household credit card debt as of Q2 2021. As one
would expect, the states with the largest populations have the most,
while the least inhabited states have the least: Vermont is No. 1.
However, evaluated by total credit card debt per household, Vermont is
No. 1 there too, followed by South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and
Iowa. Most of the 10 states with the lowest credit card debt per
household are also among the lower half of all states in total credit
card debt, with the exception of 12th-highest Michigan and 23rd-highest
Wisconsin.
The highest in credit card debt per household? Hawaii and Alaska,
followed in order by Connecticut, Virginia and Texas. Debt levels across
the nation rose 32% more in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the
same quarter in 2019. WalletHub projects that consumers will end the
year with roughly $100 billion more in credit card debt than they
started with, which would be close to an annual record. “The $45.7
billion increase in credit card debt during Q2 2021 indicates that
consumers failed to learn much about sustainable spending from the
pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The fear people had
of running out of money for food and housing, let alone other bill
payments, has been overcome by enthusiasm at the prospect of
post-pandemic life.” — Adam Bruns
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Lowest Household
Credit Card Debt as of Q2 2021
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FDI
Recent investors from Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Brazil are among
the more than 720 international employers in the state employing 144,000
workers.
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AGTECH & FOOD
Agtech is a natural for Missouri. Just ask Benson Hill.
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Poland
According to a Google translation of a report from the Polish-language
newspaper Legnica, Pepsico held a cornerstone ceremony for its fifth
production facility in Poland on August 26th. Dedicated primarily to
chips and snacks, the facility will supply Poland and more than 20 other
countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
The facility “with an area of approximately seven football pitches” will
be built on a 30-hectare (74-acre) plot of land located in Święte near
Środa Śląska within the Legnica Special Economic Zone (Dolnośląskie
Voivodeship). “We have been investing in Poland and operating for 30
years,” said Silviu Popovici, PepsiCo's president for Europe. “The
central location favors the development of our food production in
Central and Eastern Europe. However, development must take place in a
sustainable manner — we want our plants to be the most ecological
facilities not only in Europe, but also around the world. In Środa
Śląska, we are creating the future of food production.”
Iowa
By integrating former supplier Quality Food Processors into its national
network, Memphis-based Monogram Foods expects its annual revenue to
exceed $1 billion. “This is an important day for our company and one
that ensures we continue to grow in the prepared meats space, especially
in the bacon category,” said Monogram Executive Chairman and CEO Karl
Schledwitz in June. Monogram now operates 10 food manufacturing
facilities in six states and employs more than 3,000. The company was
founded in 2004 with the purchase of King Cotton and Circle B Brand
meats from Sara Lee Corporation. Before the acquisition in Denison
(located in western Iowa about 75 miles southeast of Sioux City), the
company’s most recent project was the April launch of construction on a
300+-job facility in Haverhill, Massachusetts, that will devote
one-third of its space to production and the remainder to distribution
services for the company’s multiple facilities in Greater Boston.
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XCEL ENERGY’S REAL ESTATE PROGRAMS
Xcel Energy offers nearly 90 available real estate options, including
Certified Sites, Ready Sites and Ready Buildings, across its eight-state
service area. Xcel Energy’s real estate certification process follows a
robust and credible protocol, starting with the collection and
validation of essential property attributes and due diligence. Using
information gathered during site visits, complemented by details
provided by municipalities, utilities and economic development
organizations, the Xcel Energy team reviews the due diligence on the
property and infrastructure, including any required studies. Equipped
with the knowledge already gathered on your behalf, you can move faster
into your new location and increase your speed to market. And of course,
each site enjoys reliable and robust electric service from Xcel Energy,
one of the nation’s top providers of clean power. Take an aerial tour of Xcel Energy’s Certified
Sites and find your next location, today.
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SITE SELECTION
RECOMMENDS
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A new report from the Information Technology and
Innovation Foundation claims a new tax rule set to take effect
in 2022 — amortizing R&D expenses over five years instead of in the same
year the cost was incurred — will reduce U.S. GDP by $45 billion
annually and cost more than 48,000 jobs after 10 years. Among other
findings, the report shows that China’s R&D tax benefit for companies
conducting R&D will increase from 2.7 to 5.7 times more generous than
the U.S. benefit.
“Congress should move quickly to repeal this rule change before it takes
effect, or it will dramatically reduce the incentive to invest in R&D in
America, which will cost jobs and undermine U.S. competitiveness,” said
ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, who authored the report. “The United
States was the first country to introduce an R&D tax credit 1981, and it
has proved to be hugely beneficial. But since then, America has fallen
behind dozens of competitors that provide far more generous R&D
incentives. This rule would accelerate the slide and put America all the
way near the back of the pack.”
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Photo courtesy of Vattenfall
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Earlier this week His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederik André Henrik Christian and Danish Minister for Industry,
Business and Financial Affairs Simon Kollerup inaugurated Vattenfall's
new offshore wind farm Kriegers Flak. The 72-turbine wind farm in the
Baltic Sea is Scandinavia's largest, and the turbines are plenty large
too, as the size of the technicians scaling one of them in this photo
attests.
The wind farm will single-handedly increase Danish wind power production
by 16%, with capacity corresponding to the annual energy consumption of
approximately 600,000 Danish households. The installation will be
serviced out of the Port of Klintholm on the Island of Møn. “With
today's inauguration,” said Anna Borg, CEO of Vattenfall, “we are taking
one step closer towards our goal of enabling fossil-free living within one generation.”
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