Southern Living says this Alabama city is one of the South’s best on the rise

Posted on by Michael Randle

Alabama’s Rocket City is on yet another list of the South’s most vibrant communities.

Southern Living has placed Huntsville fourth on its “The South’s Best Cities on the Rise” list for 2024.

Wilmington, N.C. tops the list, followed by Franklin, Tenn. and Spartanburg, S.C.

Huntsville place for its economic development projects and its entertainment districts.

To make the list, cities were picked by Southern Living’s editors, who compiled a roster based on research, reporting, and personal experiences. Readers then selected their top picks in the magazine’s annual South’s Best Awards survey. The survey had more than 20,000 respondents, according to Southern Living.

AL.com

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Amazon plans 100 jobs at first last-mile facility in Jackson, Tennessee

Posted on by Michael Randle

Amazon is planning to build a last-mile facility in Jackson, Tennessee.

The e-commerce giant looks to launch a 69,000-square-foot facility off of Highway 223 and Lager Lane, right near Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport. 

The facility is set to bring about 100 jobs to the area and adds a significant Amazon distribution facility between Memphis and Nashville. It is being built by a Jackson developer, the Gary A. Taylor Investment Co.

“Jackson’s business environment and reputation for teamwork enabled Gary A. Taylor Investment to complete the steps necessary to secure this new investment,” said Kyle Spurgeon, president and CEO of the Greater Jackson Chamber, in a statement. “Amazon’s global presence in Jackson will provide a catalyst for continued growth. Jackson is the ideal location for an Amazon last-mile facility due to its proximity to the interstate and infrastructure.” Memphis Business Journal

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Eastern N.C. town makes surprising resurgence; state’s coastline is shrinking

Posted on by Michael Randle

An Eastern North Carolina town known for its ties to the Marine Corps is seeing a surprising resurgence.

Jacksonville has been home to Camp Lejeune since 1941, and the base has about 33,000 active military. Jacksonville, with a population of 72,000, has long been the home to the used-car lots, seedy bars and uninspiring downtowns common in military towns.

But last year, Site Selection Magazine named Jacksonville No. 22 in the U.S. for best small cities for small businesses. Jacksonville was the only North Carolina city in the top 50.

“We are trying to make this downtown a better place to do business,” City Manager Joshua Ray said.

Surging interest in Onslow County, which hugs the Atlantic Ocean and includes Swansboro and North Topsail Island, has helped.

But Jacksonville has been intentional about its growth, rebuilding and beautifying downtown. That includes a new city hall and working with the Marines to create monuments and garden areas.

Triad Business Journal

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SC Ports Expanding Rail Capacity to Support Port-Dependent Businesses

Posted on by Michael Randle

CHARLESTON, SC — FEB. 29, 2024 — Alongside rail partners and support from state leaders, SC Ports is investing in rail capacity throughout the state to efficiently handle goods for South Carolina’s booming economy.

Construction of the future Navy Base Intermodal Facility is well underway in North Charleston. Opening in July 2025, the rail-served cargo facility will be equipped with six rail-mounted gantry cranes that will efficiently move containers on and off CSX and Norfolk Southern trains.

“Growing rail capacity in the Port of Charleston will further enhance South Carolina’s competitiveness, ensuring our customers can swiftly move goods to market,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said.

In Upstate South Carolina, the expansion of Inland Port Greer has already yielded more than 8,000 feet of additional rail track, and the container yard expansion is nearing completion. These terminal enhancements will double Inland Port Greer’s cargo capacity.

“We move nearly a quarter of our containers by rail today. We look forward to growing this percentage by building critical rail infrastructure and terminal capacity in South Carolina,” Melvin said. “These projects will further support the billions of dollars being invested in South Carolina by port-dependent businesses.”

While total U.S. container volume declined in 2023, SC Ports’ intermodal volume increased nearly 12% last year, demonstrating a compelling rail product for ocean carriers and cargo owners.

SC Ports’ RapidRail program expedites containers between ship and train, with imports moving to rail less than 24 hours from actual vessel discharge.

SC Ports’ Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon achieved the highest January on record, moving a combined 17,656 containers last month. The inland ports provide direct rail service to and from the Port of Charleston.

Within SC Ports’ container terminals at the Port of Charleston, SC Ports handled 208,538 TEUs and 115,744 pier containers in January. This is down slightly from last year and reflective of the softened volumes seen across the U.S.

January was a strong month for the vehicle segment, with 17,614 vehicles rolling across the docks, up 32% year-over-year.

South Carolina Ports

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Southern Research seeking up to $5M from city for program

Posted on by Michael Randle

Southern Research plans to develop a unique public health data system program to connect personalized medical data, including genomic, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and other forms of data to clinical data to support public health.

The program is expected to create over 50 new jobs over the next five years.

And the Birmingham-based organization is going before the Birmingham City Council with a request for a program funding agreement to help with the effort.

If approved, the city will support the program by allocating funding received from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in an amount not to exceed $5 million.

The Birmingham City Council will consider the agreement at its regular council meeting on March 19.

In January, Southern Research opened a new biotechnology commercialization hub to support the city’s growing biotech community in a space on its campus on Birmingham’s Southside. Birmingham-headquartered Brasfield & Gorrie completed renovations ahead of Station 41’s opening, which includes wet lab space, office space, shared lab equipment and services to support biotech startup growth for up to 12 companies.

This move follows Birmingham’s recent designation as one of 31 regions across the country as a federal Tech Hub.

Birmingham Business Journal

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Editorial: Louisiana poised to lead the latest energy boom: renewables

Posted on by Michael Randle

The worldwide energy crisis triggered by climate change and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also created unprecedented demand for renewable power sources. The International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental organization that tracks and forecasts global energy trends, predicts the world will add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the past 20.

That surge in demand will, in turn, create enormous opportunities for regions that already have strategic locations, natural resources and embedded industries that align with new technologies created to meet that demand.

If that narrative sounds vaguely familiar to folks in south Louisiana, it should. It’s the same scenario that catapulted our state onto the world stage as a leader in energy research, development and production back in the 1970s.

Otherwise known hereabouts as the Oil Boom.

NOLA.com

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With Green Energy, Louisiana Group Looks to Be Next Silicon Valley

Posted on by Michael Randle

In 1901, the twin oil discoveries of the historic Spindletop well in Beaumont, Texas, and Louisiana’s first successful well in a Jennings rice field paved the way for the growth of an energy industry that modernized the Gulf South.

More than 120 years later, a consortium of Louisiana colleges, universities, governments and businesses has hopes of being the catalyst for the next leap forward in energy, turning the state into a new “Silicon Valley” for the transition away from fuels and industrial processes believed to contribute to climate change.

Known as the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana, or FUEL, the new consortium will be funded primarily, at first, through what could be the largest grant ever offered by the U.S. National Science Foundation — $160 million over 10 years if the consortium meets its benchmarks and Congress fully funds the program.

Government Technology

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Frozen Mexican food behemoth opens new HQ in Frisco

Posted on by Michael Randle

A manufacturer of frozen Mexican food has opened its new headquarters at an emerging mixed-use business park in Frisco, where it will ultimately employ more than 100 people.

Executives from Ruiz Foods Products Inc. and members from the Frisco Chamber of Commerce gathered March 6 for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s new home at Hall Park, off Gaylord Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway. The company’s new corporate home base spans 25,000 square feet and aims to employ 125 workers by August 2026.

Dallas Business Journal

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Bullet train backlash

Posted on by Michael Randle

A proposed high-speed rail line connecting Dallas and Fort Worth is still far from a done deal.

The train could connect the two population and business centers of the Metroplex, with an elevated portion running through downtown Dallas — and potentially connect to a station in the Cedars where passengers could catch another high-speed train to Houston.

In concert, this would mean the transformation of recreational and business travel in the state. But what has become clear in recent days is that powerful forces are still aligned against the idea. How that debate shapes up in the coming weeks and months could have ramifications for years to come on transportation and economic development in the Metroplex.

Dallas Business Journal

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Gov. Beshear: Kentucky Exports Break All-Time Record in 2023, Topping $40 Billion in Products Shipped Globally

Posted on by Michael Randle

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 29, 2024) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced more Kentucky-made products were shipped around the world in 2023 than in any other year on record, as the commonwealth broke its single-year total with $40.2 billion in exports, a 16.6% increase over the previous year.

According to data recently made available by the U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division and WISERTrade, aerospace products and parts once again led Kentucky’s exports by category in 2023. The industry shipped more than $13.3 billion in products out of the United States, representing a 27.7% increase over the previous year.

“In Kentucky, we’re working hard to ensure our place as a leader in economic development, and this growth in exports shows our efforts are succeeding,” said Gov. Beshear. “Thanks to 2023’s record high, Kentucky-made products continue to make their way into more homes and businesses all around the world. Our commitment to global partnerships is another way we’re showing Kentucky is the best place to do business and that Kentucky-made products are second to none.”

Pharmaceuticals and medicines, as well as motor vehicles, continued to show growth and remain among Kentucky’s leading exports. Pharmaceuticals saw $3.8 billion in products distributed, a 7% increase over the previous year, while $3.7 billion worth of motor vehicles were shipped globally, a 1.6% growth over 2022. Motor vehicle parts (over $1.7 billion) and basic chemicals (over $1.3 billion) round out the top five industries shipping products from the commonwealth.

The top export destinations have remained fairly consistent over recent years, with Canada once again leading the way with over $9.1 billion in products shipped north in 2023. The United Kingdom (more than $3.8 billion), France (over $3.6 billion) and China (more than $2.8 billion) remain in the top five destinations for Kentucky-made products, as Mexico, now Kentucky’s third-largest exports destination, moved into the top five with nearly $3.7 billion in exports last year.

Kentucky’s export growth builds on the best four-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $30.3 billion in announced investments, creating nearly 52,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth’s history.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 and 2023 topped $26 in consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC’s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota’s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; and INFAC North America’s $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.

The Governor’s administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history. Last year, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Kentucky’s credit outlook from stable to positive.

Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky first in the South Central region and top 5 nationally in its 2023 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear announced a “Supply Kentucky” initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.

For more information on Kentucky exports, visit kyexports.com.

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