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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Economy / Market Analysis

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, President & CEO, CAI Global (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, President & CEO, CAI Global (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

In Focus: A Holistic Balance Sheet: The Key to Successful Real Estate

Tray Anderson, Industrial & Logistics Leader, Americas, Cushman & Wakefield (Q1 2020)

As the industrial landscape shifts, occupiers need to seek out opportune markets as well as evaluate the impact of labor costs in order to be successful. More

2019 Leading Metro Locations: Pacific and South-Atlantic Metros Dominate the List

Area Development Research Desk and Lisa A. Bastian (Q4 2019)

Metro areas that are hotbeds of technology lead the pack, joined by others showing manufacturing prowess, which has a large economic ripple effect. More

FDI Surges Ahead in Canada

Marc Beauchamp, President & CEO, CAI Global (Location Canada 2019)

Canada continues to be a premier investment destination and is dedicated to protecting its key industries, investing in innovation, and developing its workforce. More

In Focus: Last-Mile Distribution Drives Industrial Demand in Secondary Markets

Ben Newell, Senior Vice President, Logistics Group, Transwestern Development Company (Q3 2019)

Retailers are rethinking their supply chain management and locating closer to the end customer to meet their lightning-fast delivery expectations. More

People Analytics Helps Define the Search for Skilled Labor

Wayne Gearey, Chief Data Scientist, Emsi and Amy Fobes, Managing Director , Savills (Q2 2019)

The analysis of human capital flows across markets and regions measures how, why, and where talent and skill clusters are creating and supporting sustainable market strength. More

Growing Markets Positioned for Corporate Location Success

David J. Robinson, Principal, The Montrose Group, LLC (Q2 2019)

Corporate site location projects begin with understanding which regional markets are growing and will provide a long-term pool of skilled workers and a successful economy attractive to the company and its supply chain. More

What Makes a Successful Innovation District?

Stephen Coulston, Principal, Perkins+Will (Q2 2019)

Prosperous innovation districts have diversified economies and are integrated into the fabric of a community, drawing workers who seek out such environments and the companies that are trying to attract them. More

Site Selection 2020: Riding the Waves of Disruption into the Next Decade

Bradley Migdal, Executive Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. (Q1 2019)

Following our Miami Consultants Forum, Area Development discussed the current and evolving state of the site selection industry and industrial real estate market with Brad Migdal, Senior Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield. More

33rd Annual Corporate Survey & the 15th Annual Consultants Survey

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2019)

Our survey Results indicate that despite an uncertain operating environment and continuing concerns about the availability of skilled labor, plans for new and expanded facilities still are on the horizon. More

Mid-Sized Urban Markets Compare Well with Mega-Cities

David J. Robinson, Principal, The Montrose Group, LLC (Q1 2019)

With their economic vitality and lower cost of doing business compared to their mega-city counterparts, growing mid-sized urban markets are succeeding in retaining and attracting high-wage jobs. More

Exclusive Research