The Mobile Press Register has published the top five economic trends that it believes will reshape Mobile in 2013.
Of course, the Airbus assembly plant tops the list. The $600-million plant to be built at Blakely Field is expected to employ 1,000 people by 2016. The groundbreaking is set for April 2013.
Other trends:
Tourist officials are convinced the Port of Mobile will land a cruise land to replace Carnival, which moved its ship to New Orleans in 2011.
Workforce development will need to be retooled to accommodate Airbusâ – not just in Mobile, but for the entire region, including Northwest Florida.
Panama Canal expansion will impact the Port of Mobile. The state of Alabama has invested $340 million in a new container terminal at the port, deepening the channel and launching an intermodal rail facility.
The Aerospace Allianceâ – which stretches from Louisiana to Northwest Florida – expects to grow along the I-10 corridor as global markets invest in fleets and more fuel-efficient aircraft. The U.S. Navy recently awarded submarine contracts worth up to $4.5 billion to General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. Seven percent of the work will be done at Ingalls inPascagoula, Miss. facility.
Escambia County/Pensacola’s economic trends?
1. Expansion of Navy Federal Credit Union
2. Landing new employer for either Airport or Port – or both
3. Workforce development, especially blue collar jobs that fit under-educated workforce
4. More Dollar Stores
5. ?????