By Michael C. Randle
Q3 2026 saw massive industry captures in the economic development game in the South. Here are a few reasons why:
In October, we counted up the big buffalo announcements made in the 13-state South for the third quarter. There were 207 of them meeting or exceeding our thresholds of 200 jobs and/or $30 million or more publicly announced.
There were 394 SB&D 100 projects announced in Q1 and Q2, a two-quarter record. So, the third quarter has met the average of 200 deals for each of the first three quarters.
To tell you the difference between 2025, when the tariffs were announced, the first two quarters of that year saw only 119 deals meeting or exceeding SouthernBusiness.com’s criteria. In the first two quarters of 2026, the South captured 394 big buffalo. That is a huge increase of 275 large projects announced from 2025 Q1 and Q2 to the same period in 2026.
That means for the year — not counting Q4, which will be revealed at SEDR@RosemaryBeach Dec. 10-12 (come join us), along with state and community totals and winners — the big deal total in Q1, Q2 and Q3 is 601 game-changing deals.
That is some rare air, as the 34-year record is 730 SB&D 100 deals announced in 2015. So far this year, we have averaged 200 big deals a quarter, so no slowdown in Q3.
So, if Q4 continues the pace of the first three quarters, we are set for 801 big buffalo in the world’s third largest economy for 2026. That would be an all-time record by a large measure and we will announce totals for the year at SEDR@RosemaryBeach, Dec. 10-12 at The Pearl Hotel.
This year, there are lots of folks winning in the South.
Here are the best SB&D 100 years since 1993
- 2026: 601 (so far through Q3)
- 2015: 730
- 2016: 695
- 2017: 680
- 2014: 668
- 1997: 636
Here are the worst SB&D 100 years since 1993
It should be noted that by our count, about 74 percent of projects meeting or exceeding our thresholds of 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment are A.I., data center, space and defense related. These projects could be any number of industries, including:
- 2021: 364
- 2009: 367
- 2002: 409
- 2008: 429
- 2001: 447
- 2025: 496
Source: SB&D
- Metals
- Optics
- Computer chips
- Computer racks
- Rockets
- Satellites
- Aerospace parts
- Battery storage
- Batteries
- Solar
- Data centers
- Power plants
- Mechanical engineering
- Nuclear
- Other electronics
- Launch pads
- Rare earths
With 74 percent of the big buffalo announced in the South coming from just four industries, the days of automotive dominating the Southern deal scene are probably over after four decades; at least for a while.
However, automotive has seen an uptick in the Southern Automotive Corridor in 2026, highlighted by Audi choosing Middle Georgia in October for a $4 billion brand new assembly plant, its first in the U.S.
SB&D 100 Totals* per Southern State Q1-Q3 2026
AL 34
AR 24
FL 43
GA 45
KY 31
LA 30
MS 31
NC 61
OK 17
SC 39
TN 30
TX 178
VA 38
Total: 601
Source: SB&D. *Number of projects meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment.
