Eastern OH and Youngstown Economic Look

There are significant issues effecting the Eastern Ohio region due to its strong but changing base as a manufacturing area. The manufacturing jobs in the US are at crisis and in the case rural OH, where they are between big cities and big industries and shippable locations, it has the potential to pull through. It has a lot going for it, but the world price competition for labor costs and pirated after market parts are also taking its toll as emerging nations move into swoop entire manufacturing sectors of various industries.

In Youngstown the new construction is 10:1 in square feet of new homes to commercial properties, which makes home values good for now and increases certain areas on the side of town where the middle class congregates, but also it hurts the urban flight and crime problems plaguing nearly all of America as Suburbs grow like lawns with ride on garden tractors.
In Youngstown they have 27 Industrial and office parks, 1 FTZ, 17 of which have rail service by CSX, and what is OHIO's solution after raising the sales tax 1% which will cost the state an estimated 900 million in capital inflow? And God, yes God only knows how many jobs? Their solution no kidding is to allow slot machines in Horse and Car Race Tracks and of course tax them? Outrageous? That is the solution to their economic plan? Sounds like they are punting? Added so far is 1% sales tax and some areas after the county's special sales tax assessment is now up to 7.5% and an additional $ .02 on every gallon of gasoline? In a state that derives most of it's revenue from taxes paid by the largest employers, car makers and parts for cars made in a state where 88% of every car made is an SUV made in OH folks.
Youngstown also has a Superfund site in the old Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company closed in 1977, yet with all these closings, declining populations in Youngstown itself the economic development group managed to create almost 10,000 jobs, I am impressed. Too bad MCI-WorldCom the big plum dropped from the tree as their main call in center laid off many people, but at one time had been the third largest employer there. Lordstown also had the Lordstown Space Center, which besides GM was a big deal at one time.
One situation in Youngstown is the weather average temps are meek in winter; Nov and March not to bad with an average of about 45 degrees, but in Dec. 36 degrees, Jan 31.4, Feb 33.8 degrees, yes doable, but those are averages of which this year was not average, about half way between the wicked record setting lows and average. Population are definitely consumer type customers with 31% being 25-44 years old, X'ers and Boomers and you can tell this is pretty constant around OH areas. 21% are 44-66 years old our second best clientele for consumer spending especially good for the service businesses.
There are 35 trucking companies left standing now in the area and 17 trucking terminals, 1 major rail yard, but the area is serviced by 98 General Motor Companies, many are merging and some exiting due to stiff competition in the industry with JB Hunt, Covenant, Swift and Fed Ex Ground, examples of this are the recent Yellow and Roadway Merger, and Consolidated freight calling it quits in Portland, Ore. There are 29 companies contracting in the area through jobbers and freight forwarders, but many are out of Pittsburgh or out of the Richfield-Akron area where 160 trucking companies are based or have terminals. Heavy Hauling is not a problem as many in the phone book, we counted 47 exist, but many are independents and OH is cracking down on them so hard they cannot make money with fuel used within state and numbers of miles driven in state all requiring extra fees, driving up costs for everything that is bigger than 40 foot trailer. The trailers also have fees but Heavy Hauling has additional fees, even as bad as the fees in CA, NJ, OR or WA state. God bless America, Keep on Trucking?
Youngstown benefits being 45 miles from Akron and Canton, 15 miles from PA's Sharon and New Castle Chicken disease city and 60 miles even from Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Although we expect to see a slower than projected increase in population the economic guestimaters think the area tri-county could reach 626,000 within 10 years, we think less since the rural areas are dying now and the inner city is having mass exodus, You should not count the downtown areas anyway they are too poor to be buying if you are selling things which are legal. Not to say poor people are bad, but bad poor people congregate in these types of areas as last resorts.
The Youngstown region of Ohio has seen better times and will emerge from the slump, they are doing it now with reasonable growth, but surely not completely out of the woods yet. Economically speaking one should not count them out, as those folks are tough as nails and serious about moving the ball forward. It would be nice if the manufacturing sector in the United States had a government at all levels, which was 100% on its side, so they could move towards that goal line faster.