With more competitive labor agreements, automakers are building more in the United States, retooling and refurbishing existing plants, and backshoring operations.
Some smaller communities are offering prospects their own road crews to prepare privately owned sites for development.
Although industry clustering may not be the economic development "Holy Grail", an effective clustering strategy is still a proven recipe for success
A surge in e-tailing has heightened the importance of making the right site selection decision for an e-commerce company's big-box facilities.
If the nation's unemployment crisis is to be solved, education as well as on-the-job experience must now be combined with the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing business environment.
Building performance analysis must be quantified and incorporated into the design process right from the earliest architectural stages.
Many companies don't need to look further than the gas pump or congested roadways to determine their top site selection criteria. Easy access to key infrastructure can be vital when it comes to executing business strategies, saving time and money, and creating an attractive environment for both employees and customers.
The cost of skilled labor is always at the forefront of concern for corporate executives, and the 2010 survey respondents confirmed this fact. Labor costs were ranked as the second most important factor in Area Development's 2010 Corporate Survey, with a 91 percent importance rating, although this was a 5.7 percent drop from 2009.
Developing a new facility is an expensive endeavor. Depending upon the size and scope of a business, start-up costs can make a difference between getting a project off the ground and seeing it fall flat. After opening, the costs continue to accumulate. Low tax rates, tax exemptions, and tax incentives can lift a big burden off of all phases of a company's budget. In fact, in Area Development's 2010 Corporate Survey, respondents ranked these three factors among their top-six site selection criteria.
Occupancy and construction costs ranked as the fourth most important site selection factor in Area Development's 2010 Corporate Survey with 89.8 percent of respondents stating that occupancy and construction costs were considered very important or important.
Energy availability and costs was ranked in ninth place in Area Development's 25th Annual Corporate Survey, with 82.1 percent of the respondents rating this factor as very important or important.
Inbound/outbound shipping costs ranked eighth among the site selection factors in Area Development's 2010 Corporate Survey, with an 84 percent importance rating. Factors such as rising fuel costs and distances from vendors, suppliers, and markets served are all playing a greater role in shipping-cost decision-making.
Many companies have been standing pat, watching and waiting for signs that the economy, or activity within a particular sector, is finally beginning to improve. When those indicators emerge, companies want to be in a position to pounce on opportunities before they disappear.
No matter what the type of business, workers are the heart of any company - from customer service to assembly line production. In fact, availability of skilled labor was ranked seventh among the site selection factors in Area Development's 2010 Corporate Survey.
In Area Development's Corporate Survey, quality-of-life factors are ranked separately from the other site selection factors and are generally rated lower in importance than the top site selection factors - except for "low crime rate."
While many new buildings are being designed using high-performance building principles, the greatest potential lies in applying this proven approach to improve the performance of existing facilities.
In May 2011, Volkswagen officially opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, TN, creating 2,000 jobs and projected to have an $18 billion economic impact on the region. We discussed the site selection process with the Head of Overseas Group Manufacturing at Volkswagen, Dr. Christof Spathelf.
Not helping the jobs situation is productivity growth, i.e., companies are doing more with fewer workers.
In the world of industrial energy, where cost is the driving force, lighting efficiency is an obvious solution that must not be overlooked.
FlightSafety International President & CEO Bruce Whitman speaks with Area Development about the company's recent expansion in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and it's other operations throughout the United States.
Under new U.S. patent laws, the original inventor must file for patent within one year of publicly disclosing the innovation or lose the right to do so.
While it has taken an inordinately long time to get trade agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia approved, many believe the benefits will prove to be worth the wait.
Hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and horizontal wells now make it possible to economically produce natural gas from low permeability shale rock, greatly increasing natural gas supplies while reducing prices.
With the ability to effectively manage maintenance schedules, repairs, renovations, and costs, BIM stands to bring new life to the AECO building ecosystem.
Small, rural businesses could feel greatest impact
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