Region sees boom in manufacturing

A steady four-year climb in heavy industry economic output has propelled the region’s above-average growth.

Click on a sector to add it to the chart.

In inflation-adjusted 2009 dollars

Rank, 2013	Sector
1	Manufacturing
2	Finance, insurance
3	Government
4	Retail trade
5	Construction

setTimeout(function () { label.fadeOut(); }, 1000); } } }, xAxis: { categories: ['2001', '2002', '2003', '2004', '2005', '2006', '2007', '2008', '2009', '2010', '2011', '2012', '2013'] }, plotOptions: { series: { connectNulls: true } }, yAxis: { title: { text: 'GDP (in millions)' } }, series: [{ name: 'Manufacturing', data: [1039, 1056, 1050, 1153, 1151, 1156, 1150, 1111, 1069, 1224, 1318, 1391, 1478] }] });

// activate the button $('#a').click(function () { var chart = $('#container').highcharts();

chart.addSeries({ name: 'Manufacturing', data: [1039, 1056, 1050, 1153, 1151, 1156, 1150, 1111, 1069, 1224, 1318, 1391, 1478] });

$(this).attr('disabled', true); }); $('#b').click(function () { var chart = $('#container').highcharts();

chart.addSeries({ name: 'Finance, insurance', data: [614, 654, 698, 657, 657, 607, 505, 494, 477, 554, 559, 540, 537]

});

$(this).attr('disabled', true); }); $('#c').click(function () { var chart = $('#container').highcharts();

chart.addSeries({ name: 'Government', data: [747, 752, 734, 709, 710, 698, 673, 666, 646, 636, 611, 602, 586] });

$(this).attr('disabled', true); }); $('#d').click(function () { var chart = $('#container').highcharts();

chart.addSeries({ name: 'Retail trade', data: [485, 546, 569, 563, 598, 585, 557, 533, 544, 552, 551, 539, 526] });

$(this).attr('disabled', true); }); $('#e').click(function () { var chart = $('#container').highcharts();

chart.addSeries({ name: 'Construction', data: [352, 308, 271, 257, 233, 206, 185, 170, 139, 139, 152, 168, 161] });

$(this).attr('disabled', true); }); });

series: [{ name: 'Private industry', data: [3615, 3771, 4069, 4137, 3841, 4417, 4707] }, { name: 'Government', data: [551, 581, 615, 633, 646, 637, 626]

}] }); });

Dollars are in current year figures and are not inflation adjusted.

By the numbers

$5.3 billion

Size of local economy, 2013

2.5

Percent economic growth, 2012-2013.

5th

Rank, among 14 metropolitan
regions in Michigan, in terms
of one-year growth

117st

Rank, among 382 metropolitan
regions in country, in terms of one-year change in GDP

11th

Rank, among 14 Michigan regions,
in overall economic size

288th

Rank nationally, in terms of economic size.
(The region, comprised of Muskegon County, has
170,000 people, ranking 236th in population.)

The Business Buzz

The west-side story here is one word: Manufacturing. It climbed by 6.3 percent in 2013 over 2012, making up nearly 30 percent of the region’s GDP. It stands nearly 29 percent above its pre-recession output in 2007 and led to overall regional growth of 2.5 percent.

The region has seen the biggest recovery in the state since 2007. Professional and business services increased by 10.7 percent. Construction was down by 4.2 percent and remains 54.3 percent below its peak year of 2001.

“We know manufacturing is a huge part of (the growth),” said Cindy Larsen, president of the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. “We have a great cross-section of manufacturers in Muskegon, automotive, aerospace, food processing, a lot of transportation suppliers.”

She said the region will get $150 million in capital investment of all types in 2014. “For a county our size, that's significant,” she said. Baker College is building a new health center, estimated at $8 million. and a 73-home waterfront project on Muskegon Lake is in the works.

“We haven't seen anything like that in a decade,” she said.

Top 10 industries: Manufacturing boosts economy

One of the regions most reliant on manufacturing, Muskegon has seen heavy industry continue to rise over five years and it is 22 percent higher than it was before the recession.

Sector	2013 GDP (in $ millions)	Percent of economy	Peak year	Change (2013) from peak	Change from 2007	Change from 2012
Manufacturing	$1,580	29.6%	2013	0%	22.2%	6.3%
Educational services, health care, and social assistance	$670	12.6%	2006	-1.6%	-0.3%	2.1%
Government	$626	11.7%	2002	-22.1%	-14.8%	-2.7%
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing	$570	10.7%	2003	-23.1%	6%	-0.6%
Retail trade	$558	10.5%	2005	-12%	-5.9%	-2.4%
Wholesale trade	$225	4.2%	2001	-23.2%	11.4%	10.4%
Professional and business services	$209	3.9%	2001	-31.7%	-6.1%	10.7%
Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services	$179	3.4%	2004	-15.3%	-10.5%	0%
Construction	$170	3.2%	2001	-54.3%	-14.9%	-4.2%
Other services, except government	$134	2.5%	2002	-20.8%	-17.2%	2.5%