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| FROM SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE, MAY 2023 ISSUE |
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SHOVEL-READY SITES
A region with shovel-ready property meets an Oregon company ready to engage with a community.
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NORTHEAST U.S.
An in-depth look at what’s driving industrial development in the Northeast U.S.
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New Jersey–based Quest Diagnostics two weeks ago released its latest analysis of national drug screening data based on more than 10.6 million drug test results. It found the percentage of employees in the general U.S. workforce testing positive for marijuana following an on-the-job accident increased to 7.3% in 2022, its highest level in 25 years and a 9% increase from 6.7% in 2021. “The new peak follows a steady increase in post-accident marijuana positivity every year from 2012 [the year Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use] to 2022. In that 10-year time frame, post-accident marijuana positivity increased 204.2%. From 2002 to 2009, post-accident marijuana workforce positivity declined.”
Since 2012, 19 additional states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana and 38 states (plus D.C.) have legalized medical use, although both uses remains illegal under federal law. But employer concerns range far beyond weed. “In 2022, the combined U.S. workforce urine drug positivity for all drugs persisted at 4.6% — the highest level in two decades,” Quest said. “Positivity for marijuana in the general U.S. workforce increased 10.3% (4.3% positivity in 2022 versus 3.9% positivity in 2021) and amphetamines positivity increased 15.4% (1.5% positivity in 2022 versus 1.3% positivity in 2021). While the company's amphetamines data does not differentiate between prescribed medications and illicit drug use, the increase correlates with other data suggesting that the use of amphetamines, prescribed or illicit, has grown in recent years in the U.S.”
Over the past five years, the workforce positivity rate climbed in most industry sectors, led by Accommodation and Food Services increasing 42.9% (4.9% in 2018 versus 7.0% in 2022), Retail Trade increasing 42.6% (5.4% in 2018 versus 7.7% in 2022), and Finance and Insurance increasing 38.5% (2.6% in 2018 versus 3.6% in 2022).
The Quest findings corroborate similar findings of recent analyses by Current Consulting and First Advantage. While Quest stated that marijuana positivity rates were higher and climbing in states with some degree of marijuana legalization, the organization did not provide a geographic breakdown of positivity rates by state. — Adam Bruns
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Overall Positivity Rates
Urine Drug Tests - General U.S. Workforce
(More than 16 million tests from 2018 - 2022)
| Industry |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
| Accommodation and Food Services |
4.9% |
5.1% |
6.2% |
6.5% |
7.0% |
| Admin Support, Waste & Remediation Services |
4.6% |
4.7% |
5.1% |
5.5% |
5.5% |
| Construction |
4.1% |
4.2% |
4.1% |
4.6% |
4.7% |
| Educational Services |
3.1% |
3.2% |
3.2% |
3.5% |
3.8% |
| Finance and Insurance |
2.6% |
2.8% |
3.3% |
3.3% |
3.6% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance |
4.6% |
4.5% |
4.8% |
5.1% |
5.3% |
| Information |
3.6% |
3.7% |
3.8% |
4.0% |
4.6% |
| Manufacturing |
3.7% |
3.8% |
4.0% |
4.5% |
4.5% |
| Mining |
3.7% |
3.5% |
3.1% |
3.7% |
4.8% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) |
5.2% |
5.5% |
5.7% |
6.6% |
6.2% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
3.2% |
3.3% |
3.8% |
4.4% |
4.3% |
| Public Administration |
3.5% |
3.3% |
3.3% |
3.5% |
4.0% |
| Real Estate Rental and Leasing |
4.5% |
4.8% |
5.0% |
5.2% |
4.7% |
| Retail Trade |
5.4% |
5.5% |
6.2% |
7.0% |
7.7% |
| Transportation and Warehousing |
3.9% |
4.0% |
4.4% |
5.5% |
5.3% |
| Utilities |
2.9% |
3.4% |
3.5% |
3.7% |
4.0% |
| Wholesale Trade |
4.3% |
4.5% |
5.2% |
5.3% |
5.5% |
Quest Diagnostics
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| MASSACHUSETTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 2023-24 |
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STATISTICAL PROFILE
Check out recent projects, statistics and economic indicators that point to a commonwealth on the move.
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LOGISTICS
Two counties account for nearly half of the more than 100 facility investments with a logistics function tracked by Site Selection since January 2019.
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| SITE SELECTION RECOMMENDS |
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Chart courtesy of UNCTAD secretariat based on data from the Joint Coordination Centre as of March 5, 2023. Note: Cargo may be processed and re-exported from the primary destination.
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Two weeks ago, The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, to resume vital food and fertilizer exports from designated Ukrainian seaports, was extended for 60 days. UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the news in New York following confirmation by the Russian Federation to continue its participation in the initiative for another 60 days. Under the initiative, more than 30 million tons of grain and foodstuffs have been exported, including 30,000 tons of wheat that last month left Ukraine aboard a ship chartered by the World Food Programme to feed hungry people in Sudan. Over the last year, the agreements have helped stabilize markets and reduce volatility, the UN said, noting that global food prices have fallen by 20% from the all-time high reached in March 2022. “These agreements matter for global food security,” said Guterres. “Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world.”
UNCTAD’s report, “A Trade Hope: The impact of the Black Sea Grain Initiative”, published in March, said developing countries have benefited the most from the initiative, supporting food security among the most vulnerable.
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Malaysia
Denver-based hyperscale data center developer Vantage Data Centers in May announced the development of this second data center campus (KUL2) in Cyberjaya. Upon completion, the KUL2 campus will deliver 256 MW of IT capacity on nearly 35 acres and will include 10 facilities across 256,000 sq. m. (2.75 million sq. ft.). The company noted its KUL campuses are “strategically located to provide low-latency connectivity to major cities in the region, including Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta,” and said the first facility is planned to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2025. Vantage is also expanding its KUL1 campus next door. The announcement took place at the 26th anniversary celebration of Cyberjaya, developed by Cyberview. “We are confident that Vantage’s efforts will assume a crucial role in propelling Malaysia to achieve its goal of becoming a digital nation and realizing a 22.6% GDP growth from the digital economy by 2025,” said Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). Vantage currently has seven campuses across the Asia Pacific region that are either operational or under development; employs more than 200 employees across eight cities in the region; and anticipates adding 80 new roles by the end of the year. One week after this announcement, the company opened an expanded Asia Pacific HQ in Singapore. Watch for more coverage of data centers in the July issue of Site Selection.
California
Santa Clara-based Applied Materials in May announced a landmark investment to build “the world’s largest and most advanced facility” for collaborative semiconductor process technology and manufacturing equipment R&D. The new Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center is planned as the heart of a high-velocity innovation platform designed to accelerate development and commercialization of the foundational technologies needed by the global semiconductor and computing industries. To be located at an Applied campus in Silicon Valley, the facility will include more than 180,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom for collaborative innovation with chipmakers, universities and ecosystem partners. To create the center, Applied Materials expects to make gross, incremental capital investments of up to $4 billion over the next seven years. “The new innovation center is expected to be completed by early 2026 and become the nexus of more than $25 billion in company R&D investments in the first 10 years of operations,” Applied Materials stated. The center is expected to create up to 2,000 new engineering jobs in Silicon Valley and potentially another 11,000 jobs in other industries. “EPIC is designed to be capable of engaging with a future U.S. National Semiconductor Technology Center,” the company said. “The scale of Applied’s investment is contingent upon receiving support from the U.S. government through provisions of the CHIPS and Science Act.”
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Toyota Kentucky President Susan Elkington celebrates with employees yesterday after announcing the facility will assemble Toyota’s first Battery Electric Vehicle in the U.S. The news was part of an overall announcement by Toyota that includes an additional $2.1 billion investment in its new battery plant now under construction in North Carolina, as the company pushes harder toward carbon neutrality. That brings total investment in Toyota North Carolina to $5.9 billion. Over the last two years the company has invested more than $8 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations primarily to support its product electrification efforts.
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