Great Lakes to Gulf Coast Seek Jobs

Russell Runge, an assistant city manager in Missouri, hovered on the edge of a packed reception for economic-development boosters and automotive-industry executives in northern Michigan. Runge was seeking jobs. 

Runges city of Mexico, Missouri, located between General Motors and Ford Motor factories in Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas, is home to a small auto-parts maker.Obviously, wed love to see more suppliers in the area, he said last week after a long day at the Center for Automotive Researchs annual industry conference near Traverse City.

He wasnt alone. The 17-page roster of registered attendees included a whos who of economic-development officials from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, all seeking a piece of a growing industry. The conference has long attracted state and local government officials eager to gain an audience with auto industry leaders by offering everything from MoonPies to cash incentives. There was new urgency and vibrancy this year. 

The interest has more than doubled from state and local government officials compared with five years ago, said Jay Baron, chief executive officer of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research. 

The car business is booming in the U.S., where sales are running at the fastest pace since 2007. The auto industry alone has contributed 14 percent to the otherwise sluggish U.S. gross domestic product recovery. With the industrys focus on trimming costs to boost margins, economic-development officials know that now, more than ever, is the time to argue that their location, workforce and community support will make a good marriage. 

Gary Wallace, vice president of corporate relations at Agero Inc., a Medford, Massachusetts-based automotive supplier that provides connected-vehicle services,How to change your dash lights to Cheap Crafts Products this is how I have done mine. watched the crowd. He knows what its like to be pursued by eager economic-development officials. His company opened a new call center in Clarksville, Tennessee, a year ago, creating 250 jobs to start,Most of aftermarket hid Cheap Granite Tiles for motorcycle are similar or the same with following one. with plans to increase to 500. Before the decision, Tennessee and South Carolina conducted a full-court press.

As U.S. auto sales have rebounded from a 27-year low in 2009, automakers and suppliers are rushing to churn out cars to meet growing demand. IHS Automotive estimates that North America light vehicle production may rise to 17.2 million in 2015 from 15.4 million last year.

With suppliers operating at about 80 percent capacity, more will have to start expanding to keep up with demand, said Dave Andrea, senior vice president of industry analysis and economics at the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, a trade group. 

As the conference played out last week, automakers announced plans to spend $434 million to boost their capacity to make vehicles and engines in North America, including a GM plant in Tennessee and Honda Motor Co. factory in Ohio.

Many executives are reluctant to commit to building a new factory and are instead doing what Ford is doing: Adding shifts and carving out additional capacity the best it can. Fords Van Dyke Transmission plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is running on four shifts,This is a great Cheap Conservation solution! totaling 153 hours a week, said Jim Tetreault, the automakers vice president of North American manufacturing. Were still looking at how we get more out of every plant, and thatll be a focus for as long as the demand is as strong as it is, he said.

As Runge, the Missouri city official, mingled at the reception, Mike Finney, head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., sat outside on a couch, contemplating the many visitors from other states who were wooing auto investments.Were trying to be on the radar screen of businesses that are in a growth mode, he said.

Among his assets: Proximity to the now-growing Detroit Threes U.S. manufacturing core and $170 million in cash incentives for job-creating investments in the next fiscal year in Michigan.Finney gave his pitch for how Michigan could help businesses the same day Michigan Governor Rick Snyder told the audience that the state has a lot to offer. 

The next day, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon made his pitch. Hes angling to leverage GMs announcement in January to invest $600 million to expand the Fairfax assembly plant and its $513 million commitment to prepare for new mid-size pickups at the Wentzville assembly plant near St. Louis as well as Fords $1.1 billion investment in its Kansas City area plant.
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