As demand surges, new markets emerge, says Cushman & Wakefield’s top
industrial expert. We ask some follow-up questions, and name the top
states and metro areas for logistics facility investments.
Following last week’s initial analysis of top states by number of INC. 5000 companies,
this week we dig further into the data. Next up: Top states by INC. 5000
companies per 1 million residents. They’re not a state (yet), but No. 1
District of Columbia leads by a long shot, perhaps due to a blend of a
small population as compared to its metro-area population and a dynamic
growth environment in sectors that include government contracting but
are not limited to it. The multi-state D.C. metro area also is one key
to Virginia’s No. 3 showing. Among the Top 10, Florida’s per-capita
performance is notable given that it’s the No. 3 most populous state in
the nation with a population of 21.7 million:
State
INC. 5000 Companies per 100K population
DC
55.22
UT
36.25
VA
29.74
DE
25.91
CO
25.12
MA
21.91
AZ
21.16
MD
20.92
GA
20.56
FL
18.00
Which sectors are leading the way among the fast-growing INC. 5000
leaders? Below are the Top 10, led by software. ComptTIA’s 2022
CyberStates report found that the top states in net tech jobs added
since the previous year were, in order, Texas, Florida, California,
North Carolina and Washington, which rank Nos. 2, 3, 1, 12 and 18 in
terms of overall INC. 5000 companies. The biggest shifts from last
year’s numbers are pronounced increases in Advertising & Marketing firms
and Business Products & Services firms, with a significant drop in
health services possibly due to a fall-off in pandemic-induced activity.
— Adam Bruns and Daniel Boyer
Is your talent busy looking for a new place? Two reports may
prove handy. Burlington, Vermont, is No. 1 in home showings
per listing among the top 25 metro areas in that category in
July, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index® from
Chicago-based Zillow affiliate ShowingTime. The Vermont city
and Hartford, Connecticut, were the only two of the 25 to
show positive year-over-year growth in showings per listing
as the U.S. overall saw a 16.8% dip in foot traffic.
Lest one think the U.S. CHIPS Act has caused all semiconductor activity
to funnel toward the U.S., consider this project announced by SK Hynix
last week that calls for a new fab called M15X (for M15 extension) on
the company’s site in the Cheongju Technopolis industrial complex.
Beginning in October and expected to be complete in early 2025, the fab
will occupy 645,855 sq. ft. Since the company joined SK in 2012, it
completed the M14 fab in 2015 in Icheon (a city known for its ceramics
heritage, and not to be confused with Incehon), the M15 in Cheongju in
2018 and the M16 in Icheon in 2021. It’s not finished growing: “As for
the next M17 fab,” said a company statement, “the company will decide
construction plan after reviewing overall business environment including
changes in the semiconductor business cycle.”
Idaho-based Lamb Weston Holdings last week announced an expansion of
french fry processing capacity in Argentina with the planned
construction of a new manufacturing facility in Mar del Plata, Buenos
Aires. “We’re grateful for the partnership of Sociedad Comercial del
Plata, and the expertise they’ve shared over the last three years,” said
Tom Werner, president and CEO of Lamb Weston, of the company’s stake in
its South American JV Lamb Weston Alimentos Modernos S.A., which it just
increased from 50% to 90%. “We felt it was the right time to increase
our interest in the joint venture, and we look forward to continuing to
work with them as we expand in the region.” Expected to be complete in
mid-2024, the new facility will produce more than 200 million pounds of
frozen french fries and other potato products per year for the
2-billion-pound South American market and add to the capacity produced
at the joint venture’s existing manufacturing facility in Munro, Buenos
Aires.
Site Selection Senior Editor Gary Daughters snapped this pic of Niagara
Falls Wednesday on assignment in Western New York. One of natural
wonders of the world, the falls draws some 9.5 million tourists annually
to Niagara Falls State Park, according to New York State. About five
miles downstream, the New York Power Authority’s Robert Moses Niagara
Power Plant provides up to 2.6 million kilowatts of clean electricity
and serves as a regional economic driver. The prospect of abundant and
affordable power proved to be the catalyst for what is projected to be
North America’s largest green hydrogen production facility, now under
construction at the Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced
Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in nearby Genesee County. Plug Power, the
STAMP site’s first tenant, is investing $290 million, a portion of which
is to fund a 450-MW electricity substation that’s expected to facilitate
additional power-heavy projects at the site.
