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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Labor Costs / Organized Labor

Front Line: Impact of the Latest Minimum Wage Increases

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q1 2024)

The new year brings some significant changes that will impact employers who have entry-level workers, with 22 states raising their minimum wages effective January 1st. More

The Importance of Understanding Labor Issues in Making the Location Decision

Michael J. Ball, Partner, Vorys and Michael C. Griffaton, Of Counsel, Vorys (Workforce Q4 2023)

Site selectors should assess a potential location’s workforce with an eye to identifying areas of concern that might make it open to unionization efforts. More

Look Beyond the Now When Considering Workforce Priorities

Kevin Major, Managing Director, Americas Consulting, Labor Analytics, CBRE (Workforce Q4 2023)

Industrial site selectors must consider not only a prospective location’s current labor pool but also its recruiting reach and unanticipated future demands and costs of a particular market. More

Insights on Staffing and the Location Decision

Christine Chandler, President, AdvantaStaff and Lovora Brown, Director of Operations, AdvantaStaff (Workforce Q4 2023)

When selecting a new site, companies today confront an ever-changing landscape of factors to consider, from site and facility planning to workforce analytics and training. Christine Chandler, president of AdvantaStaff, and Lovora Brown, AdvantaStaff’s director of Operations, who bring a combined 50 years’ experience in the manufacturing and distribution industry, provide their perspective on workforce issues that are important to companies’ location decisions. More

How to Factor in Labor Needs While Selecting a Site for Expansion

Sam Moses, Mark Simmons, and Azad Khan; Business Expansion and Location Solutions Team; Parker Poe (Workforce Q4 2023)

With today’s low unemployment rates, companies must consider how they will fulfill their workforce needs early on in the site selection process. More

The Value of Job Ads Data in the Location Decision

Greg Chmura, Chief Quality Office, Chmura Economics (Q1 2023)

Non-traditional data aggregated from job ads contain a plethora of insights for assessing a possible location. More

Unlocking Labor Analytics

Lauren Berry, Senior Manager, Location Analysis and Incentives, Maxis Advisors (Workforce Q4 2022)

While assessing a prospective location’s workforce may begin with a review of the data, a qualitative evaluation can provide new information not easily apparent from any desktop research. More

2022 Top States Workforce Development Programs

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2022)

Companies across industry sectors are having trouble finding all the talent they need, which makes workforce development programs even more vital as a location factor. More

Front Line: Unionization Efforts Trending Upward

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2022)

According to the experts, respecting and listening to employees’ concerns is key to keeping unionizing efforts at bay. More

The Labor Challenges of Site Selection

Greg Chmura, Chief Quality Office, Chmura Economics (Q1 2022)

A careful evaluation of a site’s labor force is needed to guard against unwelcome surprises. More

Finding and Valuing Top Talent

Martha O'Mara,  PhD. Principal, Place Strategy Partners, LLC (Q2 2020)

Martha O’Mara PhD. Principal, Place Strategy Partners, LLC, spoke with Area Development about how companies can diversify out of high-cost locations while still accessing talented labor pools after her presentation at our 2019 Houston Consultants Forum. 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

Are Your Employees Ready to Work with Robots?

Mark Howard, U.S. Country Manager, EU Automation (Workforce Q4 2019)

As manufacturers increasingly employ robots on the factory floor, they must communicate to their workforces how their roles will change and prepare them to work collaboratively with this new technology. More

The Convergence of Technology + Automotive and Its Impact on Site Selection

Patrich Jett, Chair, Global Automotive Desk, Colliers International (2019 Auto/Aero Site Guide)

Automotive suppliers must approach site selection prudently, with an eye to a long-term solution when evaluating potential locations as well as their labor pools. More

Front Line: Implications for Industry of Raising the Minimum Wage

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2019)

With manufacturers today employing fewer minimum wage-workers, the industrial sector may be only minimally affected by an increase. More

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

Bradley Migdal, Executive Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield (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

Who is Generation Z, the next workforce pool?

Brian Corde, Managing Partner, Atlas Insight (Q1 2019)

Brian Corde, a managing partner at Atlas Insight, spoke with Area Development about Generation Z, and its impact on the workforce, following his “Not Another Millennial Presentation!” presentation at our Miami Consultants Forum. More

Richmond, Virginia: A Top Destination for Middle-Office Relocation

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2018)

Companies are moving their mid-level professional jobs to less expensive locations that still provide a talented workforce pipeline and an attractive quality of life. More

Is Your New Economy Workforce Hiding Where You Least Expect It?

Chris Schwinden, Vice President, Site Selection Group (Q4 2018)

Area Development recently interviewed Chris Schwinden, Vice President, Site Selection Group, about how companies can assess a location’s true workforce potential in this exceptionally tight labor market. More

Three Tips For Using Labor Market Data

Wayne Gearey, Chief Data Scientist, Emsi (Q3 2018)

Labor market information is critical, but companies must know the uses and limitations of such data in order to select the optimal location for success. More

Front Line: Union Activity Showing Recent Spikes

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2018)

Although unions’ influence in the U.S. has diminished over the last four decades, they are still playing a key role in manufacturing and, more recently, the distribution sector. More

Front Line: Will the Latest Round of Minimum Wage Increases Affect Employment Levels?

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q1 2018)

Since the tight labor market has already pushed up wages, studies have shown an increase in the minimum wage will have minimal negative impact on employment levels. More

Unemployment Numbers Reflect a Recovering Economy

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2017)

As the U.S. economy has rebounded from the Great Recession and added jobs, unemployment has fallen to record lows in many states, creating worker shortages that need to be addressed. More

The New World of Right to Work

Mark Sweeney, Senior Principal, McCallum Sweeney Consulting (Q4 2017)

When making the location decision, companies should be wary of using RTW status as a location requirement and instead dig deeper into regional and local union activity. More

The Select Few Metros Where Wages Are Really Growing

Joshua Wright, VP, Economic and Workforce Development, Emsi (Q2 2017)

A recent analysis from Emsi suggests that the labor market might not be as tight as the data shows — or at least not tight enough for businesses in aggregate to significantly drive up wages. More

Thinking Local: How to Find Manufacturing Talent

Joshua Wright, VP, Economic and Workforce Development, Emsi (Q2 2017)

The best answer to the skills-shortage question is that it depends on where you’re located, the positions you’re looking to fill - and perhaps most importantly, the compensation you’re willing to offer. More

Raising Minimum Wages: A Double-Edged Sword

Dale D. Buss, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2017)

While raising the minimum wage puts more money into the pockets of low-wage workers, it also incentivizes employers to hold the line on job creation or even reduce employment. More

Navigating Uncharted Waters: 5 Trends Affecting Capital Investment Plans

Josh Bays, Senior Partner, Site Selection Group, LLC (Q1 2017)

A new administration in Washington, escalating wages, and a dwindling supply of industrial real estate are just some of the trends that may cause companies to take a wait-and-see approach to capital investment. More

International Location Report: Mexico Maintaining a Place in Global Manufacturing

Dale D. Buss, Staff Editor, Area Development (Directory 2017)

Despite dealing with a collapse in oil prices and threats of new tariffs to be imposed by the incoming Trump administration, Mexico retains significant economic advantages. More

Workforce Workshop: Evaluating a Community’s Labor Pool

Brian Cohen, Partner, Transwestern (Workforce Q4 2016)

The company must identify its needs, canvass local markets, and assess prospective locations’ educational resources before it can make a site decision. More

The “Truth” on the Ground: Understanding Your Potential Workforce

Steve Bonine, Principal, Hickey and Associates (Q4 2016)

Understanding your potential workforce is critical when undertaking a site selection project. Ensuring you will have employees with the right skills at the right price at each of your location options can lead to long-term success. More

Critical Site Selection Factor #1: Availability of Skilled Labor

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2016)

It pretty much goes without saying that any operation — new or expanding — will need an adequate supply of workers who have whatever skills are required to do the job well. More

Critical Site Selection Factor #6: Labor Costs

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2016)

How labor cost impacts total cost depends on the type of project being considered—headquarters, data centers, call centers/back office, retail, warehouse/distribution, manufacturing, etc. More

Location Notebook: Advanced Manufacturing Key to Mississippi’s Economy

Karen Thuermer, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2016)

Mississippi is taking steps to ensure its growing advanced manufacturing sector can fulfill its need for a skilled workforce. More

Small Manufacturers: Dealing with the New Overtime Rules Challenge

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2016)

In order to comply with the new rules, small and mid-tier manufacturers may opt to increase salaries or cut OT hours and increase workforce productivity, among other strategies. For many, there will be a wait-and-see approach while absorbing the initial shock. More

First Person: Auto Industry Comeback Presents New Opportunities

Daron Gifford, Strategy Consulting Services Leader, Automotive Industry Leader, Plante Moran (Directory 2016)

One of Area Development’s staff editors recently interviewed Daron Gifford, the partner leading automotive industry strategy consulting at accounting firm and consultancy Plante Moran in Detroit. Gifford provides us with some deep insights into how the comeback in the auto industry has given new opportunities to the hundreds of Tier 1 suppliers that provide millions of parts to the OEM assembly plants, what’s driving this supply chain, and the new competitive issues facing the U.S. automotive industry. More

In Focus: Why the NLRB’s Browning-Ferris Decision Will be a Bad Deal for Manufacturers

David Burton, Chair, Labor and Employment Section, Williams Mullen and Patrick O. Gottschalk, Chair, Economic Development Team, Williams Mullen (Directory 2016)

The recent NLRB decision that maintains manufacturers are joint employers with temporary staffing agencies will allow unions to get their foot in the door. More

Critical Site Selection Factor #6: Labor Costs Vary by Project & Location

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2015)

Labor costs are usually manufacturers biggest cost factor, but the rise of e-commerce has made these costs more important for distribution centers as well. More

Critical Site Selection Factor #5: Availability of Skilled Labor Always a Top Priority

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2015)

Matching skills with employer needs is critical to the location decision. More

Critical Site Selection Factor #7: Right-To-Work State Often the First Factor in the Location Decision

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q4 2015)

Manufacturers often will not consider a state that’s non–right-to-work, but today that rules out about half the country. More

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