 |
|
  |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kentucky Manufacturing Kentucky's manufacturing industries are relatively recent additions to the state's growing economy. More than half of the state's 4,500-plus manufacturing plants were built after 1970. Much of the recent boom in manufacturing sector jobs has been spawned by the presence of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Co. and Ford Motor Co. The ongoing expansions at Ford Motor Co.'s Louisville plant, which has expanded in six of the last seven years, helped make Kentucky one of the top four auto producers in the nation. Yet Ford is only one of more than 460 manufacturing and supportive service firms that expanded in 1998, creating over 2,000 jobs in Kentucky's manufacturing sector with over $2 billion being spent for these expansions. However, metal-related industries continue to be the dominant area of industrial growth and account for more than 43 percent of the state's manufacturing job growth. Kentucky's manufacturing workers are some of the most productive in the nation. In fact, Kentucky exceeds the national average in production value per dollar of wages paid by 9.7% as data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows. Not coincidentally, Kentucky has added 23,500 new manufacturing jobsÑa growth rate that is almost triple Kentucky's growth rate in the four years preceding 1992. And as of January 1999, the average hourly manufacturing wage in Kentucky was $14.08, as opposed to the national average of $13.67. Manufacturing plants are located throughout the state, with major concentrations in Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky, Ashland, Bowling Green, Owensboro and Paducah. The Louisville area is the leader in manufacturing plants, accounting for more than 20 percent of the state's total plants and almost a quarter of the state's total manufacturing jobs. Experts at the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics predict manufacturing-related industries will continue to lead the state's economic growth into the next millennium.
Web Links Kentucky
Cabinet for Economic Development
The Lane Report Articles on Kentucky Manufacturing May 2000: Carving Out a Future: Kentucky's Wood Industry March 2000: Sticking to the Basics February 2000: Getting Out of Line with Lean December 1999: An Un-Standard Approach to Standards October 1999: The Ups and Downs of Small Business (Cover Story) September 1999: Quality People, Quality Products August 1999: An Evolutionary Process July 1999: It's Child's Play
March 1999: Always Focus on the End Customer December 1998: Lessons in Corporate Citizenship October 1998: Kentucky's Manufacturing Ranks 2nd in Nation August 1998: Lexington Strides Ahead April 1998: Automotive Industry Overview (Feature Article) March 1998: Ford's Louisville Plant January 1998: Webasto Sunroofs to Build Lexington Factory
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright 1996-98, by Kentucky Business Online, LLC. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright
1998, Lane Communications Group Buzzword and the Buzzword balloon are registered trademarks of Buzzword, Inc. The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
