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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Economy / Market Analysis

The Rise of Mid-Size U.S. Cities: The Industrial Development Boom

Emelie Hegarty, Business Strategy Manager, Quest Site Solutions (Q3 2023)

As company needs have evolved, many are gravitating to smaller urban areas that often provide them with a lower tax burden, affordable real estate, and development-ready sites. More

2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2023)

The states considered the best locations for doing business according to an expert panel of location consultants are the highest performers in more than a dozen categories upon which companies make their site selection decisions. More

37th Annual Corporate Survey: Economic Pressures Exerting Greatest Effect on Decision-Makers

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2023)

Companies looking to grow are facing an historically tight labor market and rising costs, but their plans to invest may be buoyed by recent government legislation. More

19th Annual Consultants Survey: Clients Challenged by Tight Labor Market, Energy Availability

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2023)

Consultants responding to our survey say economic conditions are affecting their clients’ expansion/investment plans, with labor and energy availability and costs of prime concern. More

Federal Legislation Affects Companies’ Investment Plans

Jacob Everett , Founder, Corsa Strategies (Q1 2023)

Companies looking to grow are facing an historically tight labor market and rising costs, but their plans to invest may be buoyed by recent government legislation. More

Corporate Decision-Makers Face a Challenging Environment

Larry Gigerich, Executive Managing Director , Ginovus (Q1 2023)

The rankings clearly reflect the impact of geopolitical and economic instability, as well as technology. More

Labor Related Factors Are Key

Bradley Migdal, Executive Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. and Matt Niehoff, Senior Consulting Analyst, Location & Labor Analytics, Cushman & Wakefield (Q1 2023)

Companies are searching for the right balance of labor — at all skill levels — that can satisfy their needs not only now but also into the future. More

Energy Costs Come to the Forefront

Lauren Berry, Senior Manager, Location Analysis and Incentives, Maxis Advisors (Q1 2023)

The shift away from carbon-emitting fuels and the unexpected spikes in natural gas pricing in 2022 have made industrial customers increasingly sensitive to energy costs in their location decisions. More

Companies Are Recalibrating Their Priorities

Eric Stavriotis, Vice Chairman, CBRE (Q1 2023)

In recent years many companies have been propelled to recalibrate priorities for their location strategies and resulting real estate footprints. The top site selection factors for occupiers today include the following: More

Innovation Corridors Update

John W. McCurry (Q4 2022)

From robotics to EVs, from semiconductors to the life sciences, metro and regional hubs of innovation are advancing economic development across the nation. More

36th Annual Corporate Survey: Executives Focus on Labor, Energy, Shipping Costs

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2022)

A tight labor market, supply chain challenges, and rising costs have resulted in some surprising changes in corporate respondents’ location priorities. More

18th Annual Consultants Survey: Access to Major Markets and Skilled Labor Are Clients’ Primary Concerns

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2022)

Supply chain considerations, the shortage of skilled workers, and a lack of industrial space are top of mind for their clients, according to consultants responding to our annual survey. More

In Focus: Michigan Rises to the Competitive Challenge

Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (Q1 2022)

As the competition heats up, the state is taking concrete steps to ensure Michigan maintains its advantage in attracting and retaining advanced technology companies. More

Labor Challenges in the Industrial and Manufacturing Sectors Persist

Carolyn Salzer, Director, Logistics & Industrial Services, Cushman & Wakefield (Workforce Q4 2021)

Despite an improving economy, businesses are continuing to face obstacles in finding, training, and retaining enough qualified workers. More

Innovation Corridors Have Economic Assets Driving Business Growth

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2021)

By actively putting together the resources needed for innovative companies to survive and thrive, innovation districts and corridors have found a recipe for success. More

No Easy Fix for Supply Chain Struggles

Thomas Galvin, Research Manager, Transwestern (Q4 2021)

Labor shortages intertwined with other supply chain issues are creating gridlock at the nation’s ports. More

Front Line: Changing the Definition of MSAs

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2021)

Will the proposed redefinition of Metropolitan Statistical Areas and subsequent funding communities receive affect your company’s location decision? More

Editor's Note: Navigating the New and Improved Economic Landscape

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q2 2021)

Businesses need to navigate many changes in the economic landscape post-pandemic, including growth in remote work, an increased focus on workforce diversity, as well as realignment of their supply chains. More

What’s Driving Record Industrial Real Estate Demand

Jason Tolliver, Managing Director, Investor Services, Cushman & Wakefield (Q1 2021)

A boom in e-commerce and shifting population densities as well increasing transportation costs are making industrial real estate a “can’t miss.” More

35th Annual Corporate Survey: Effects of Global Pandemic Reflected in Executives’ Site and Facility Plans

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2021)

As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our corporate readers’ location plans and priorities as they increased their resiliency efforts. More

17th Annual Consultants Survey: Consultants Are Optimistic About the Year Ahead

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2021)

Those responding to the Consultants Survey express optimism about their clients’ plans for the year ahead while acknowledging their increased focus on costs and logistics going forward. More

Pandemic Fuels Data Center Growth

Dave Fanning, Executive Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield (Q1 2021)

With employees working remotely, school being held virtually, and everyone being entertained via the Internet during the COVID-19 crisis, growth of these mission-critical facilities accelerated and will continue to do so. More

In Focus: Driving Economic Prosperity Through Entrepreneurism

Fred Molnar, Vice President, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (Q1 2021)

Entrepreneurism will be the “shot in the arm” the economy so desperately needs to recover. More

“Made in America” Executive Order to Affect International Companies and FDI

Morgan Crapps, Principal, Parker Poe Consulting (Q1 2021)

The new administration’s Executive Order may provide the impetus for those companies considering U.S. manufacturing projects to proceed. More

Another Look at Rural Economies

Drew Repp, Content Manager, Emsi (Q4 2020)

Some communities are doing well, some are turning things around, some still have an uphill battle ahead of them. And this points to perhaps the biggest problem with our approach to rural economies: we lump all rural places into the singular “rural America” bucket. More

Trends in Office and Industrial Parks

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2020)

Allowing employees to continue to work remotely and possible moves to the less densely populated suburbs are among the factors that will affect corporate real estate in 2021. More

How Technology Is Making Data Collection for Incentives Programs Applications Easier

Kenan Gay, Manager, Multistate Tax Services, Deloitte Tax LLP (Q3 2020)

Kenan Gay, Manager, Multistate Tax Services, Deloitte Tax LLP, spoke with Area Development about technology solutions for evaluating incentives programs in site selections after his presentation at our 2019 Houston Consultants Forum. More

How are Uncertain Times Altering Company Location Strategies?

David Hickey, Managing Director, Hickey & Associates (Q3 2020)

The pandemic’s effect on workforce, supply chain, and government support will affect your company’s location decisions, increasing risks while also presenting new opportunities. More

What Does the Future Hold for FDI from Europe?

Alexandra Segers, General Manager, Tochi Advisors (Q3 2020)

The coronavirus pandemic has affected foreign direct investment from Europe, but some positive signs are seen going forward. More

COVID-19 and Site Selection in the Near and Long Term

Marc Beauchamp, Managing Director, Hickey Canada (Q2 2020)

The global pandemic has accelerated a digital transformation of the workforce, a shift to just-in-case inventory management, redirecting of incentives, and other changes in business priorities. More

Global Investment In – and Within – North America

Marc Beauchamp, Managing Director, Hickey Canada (Q2 2020)

Marc Beauchamp, President and CEO, CAI Global Group, spoke with Area Development about recent Canadian and international investment projects in the U.S. from a site selection perspective after his presentation at our 2019 Houston Consultants Forum. More

A “Now, Next, Later” Approach for Dealing with Pandemic Challenges

Kate Crowley, Principal,  Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP and Jeff Jorge, Principal; International Growth Services Practice Leader , Baker Tilly, LLP (Q2 2020)

The coronavirus pandemic is driving companies to focus on near-term survival and long-term supply chain changes. More

“Future-Proofing” Corporate Location Decisions in Uncertain Times

Chris Volney, Senior Director, Labor Analytics, CBRE (Q2 2020)

Despite today’s unprecedented labor market uncertainty, predictive people analytics can still be used to understand exposure to the economic ramifications of the current crisis. More

Supply Chain Growth in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America

Jeffrey Garza Walker, Senior Vice President, Cresa and Joshua Rodriguez, Vice President, Cresa (Q2 2020)

Jeffrey Garza Walker, Senior Vice President, and Joshua Rodriguez, Vice President, Cresa, spoke with Area Development about opportunities for relocation, investment and supply chain extension in Latin America after their presentation at our 2019 Houston Consultants Forum. More

In Focus: Mitigating Risk with Aggressive Support in Economic Development

Stephanie Few, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP (Q1 2020)

Having an economic development program in place, ready to go, will help a community get back on its feet once the devastating threat of COVID-19 is behind us. More

Corporate Site Location in the COVID 19 Hurricane

David J. Robinson, Principal, The Montrose Group, LLC (Q1 2020)

Although expansion will take a back seat to dealing with COVID 19 for several months, companies that focus on key business and corporate site location matters will not just survive but also thrive. More

34th Annual Corporate Survey & the 16th Annual Consultants Survey

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2020)

Plans for new and expanded facilities among the smaller firms (in terms of employment numbers) responding to our Corporate Survey are not as robust as those of larger firms that employ consultants to help in location analysis and site decisions. More

Mid-size Markets Competing for Business and Winning

David Hickey, Managing Director, Hickey & Associates (Q1 2020)

Workforce availability with the necessary skills and local partnerships are two trends driving investment to mid-size markets. More

Investment Follows Talent to Mid-Size Markets

Drew Repp, Content Manager, Emsi (Q1 2020)

The affordability of mid-sized communities has made them attractive to tech-savvy workers who, in turn, are drawing business investment to those locales. More

Revitalized Cities: Which Locations Have Outperformed and Why?

Matthew Mowell, Senior Economist, Oxford Economics (Q1 2020)

Many locations that saw economic contractions have been able to revitalize themselves by instituting pro-business policies, developing innovative workforces, and drawing the right industry mix — sprinkled with a little bit of luck! More

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