...If you were to read nothing but national stories about the Gulf Coast, you might think we’re
on the verge of collapse. Stories about the loss of the tanker project also touched on hurricanes
and the BP oil spill.
...No doubt we’ve taken hits. High unemployment? Yes. Insurance problems? Sure. Add the
planned closing of the Avondale shipyard, job cuts at Michoud Assembly Facility and in
Mobile, Ala., the loss of a cruise ship to the list of woes. And if your reading includes lists that
rank states, it can really be depressing. Mississippi and Louisiana are often at the bottom.
...But quite a different picture emerges when you focus in on the metropolitan areas where
most of us live.
...A Milken Institute study from 2007, “North America’s High-Tech Economy: The
Geography of Knowledge-Based Industries,” ranked 393 high-tech centers, including some
metro areas in Canada. Of eight Gulf Coast metro areas between Baton Rouge, La., and
Panama City, Fla., one was in the top 25 percent and four in the second. Just three were in the
third.
...More recently, statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed real U.S. GDP
in the nation’s 366 metropolitan areas declined 2.4 percent in 2009. The decline was
widespread, falling in 292 metro areas.
...And the Gulf Coast? The economies of two of the metro areas grew. Mississippi’s
Pascagoula MSA was ranked second best in the nation, up 15 percent. And in Louisiana,
Baton Rouge’s MSA was up 3.4 percent and was ranked 23 in the nation.
...The other Gulf Coast metro areas had declines, but still performed better than most. Mobile,
Ala., and Fort Walton Beach-Crestview, Fla., were in the top quartile. Hattiesburg, Miss.,
Pensacola, Fla., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., and Panama City, Fla., all were in the top half of the
nation.
...The metro figures aren’t surprising.
...Despite losing the tanker project, Mobile can point to shipbuilder Austal USA, which has
become a major player and will be building littoral combat ships for the Navy for years to
come.
...Next door in Jackson County, Miss., already a big player in shipbuilding, $5 billion in capital
projects are underway. Chevron and Mississippi Power both are expanding. An LNG terminal
is about to come on line and a synthetic fuels project is slowly moving forward.
...Don’t misunderstand me. I’m aware that many are struggling. Our fishing and tourism
industries took a big hit from the oil spill, and many folks are struggling to get compensation
from BP. Economic development officials have their work cut out for them.
...But to have the region’s bright spots lost in generalizations hurts more than helps. The image
of a limping Gulf Coast has the danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. In an age of
global competition, the prize doesn’t go to the one who needs the most, but to the one who
satisfies needs the most. – David Tortorano
April 2011
on the verge of collapse. Stories about the loss of the tanker project also touched on hurricanes
and the BP oil spill.
...No doubt we’ve taken hits. High unemployment? Yes. Insurance problems? Sure. Add the
planned closing of the Avondale shipyard, job cuts at Michoud Assembly Facility and in
Mobile, Ala., the loss of a cruise ship to the list of woes. And if your reading includes lists that
rank states, it can really be depressing. Mississippi and Louisiana are often at the bottom.
...But quite a different picture emerges when you focus in on the metropolitan areas where
most of us live.
...A Milken Institute study from 2007, “North America’s High-Tech Economy: The
Geography of Knowledge-Based Industries,” ranked 393 high-tech centers, including some
metro areas in Canada. Of eight Gulf Coast metro areas between Baton Rouge, La., and
Panama City, Fla., one was in the top 25 percent and four in the second. Just three were in the
third.
...More recently, statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed real U.S. GDP
in the nation’s 366 metropolitan areas declined 2.4 percent in 2009. The decline was
widespread, falling in 292 metro areas.
...And the Gulf Coast? The economies of two of the metro areas grew. Mississippi’s
Pascagoula MSA was ranked second best in the nation, up 15 percent. And in Louisiana,
Baton Rouge’s MSA was up 3.4 percent and was ranked 23 in the nation.
...The other Gulf Coast metro areas had declines, but still performed better than most. Mobile,
Ala., and Fort Walton Beach-Crestview, Fla., were in the top quartile. Hattiesburg, Miss.,
Pensacola, Fla., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., and Panama City, Fla., all were in the top half of the
nation.
...The metro figures aren’t surprising.
...Despite losing the tanker project, Mobile can point to shipbuilder Austal USA, which has
become a major player and will be building littoral combat ships for the Navy for years to
come.
...Next door in Jackson County, Miss., already a big player in shipbuilding, $5 billion in capital
projects are underway. Chevron and Mississippi Power both are expanding. An LNG terminal
is about to come on line and a synthetic fuels project is slowly moving forward.
...Don’t misunderstand me. I’m aware that many are struggling. Our fishing and tourism
industries took a big hit from the oil spill, and many folks are struggling to get compensation
from BP. Economic development officials have their work cut out for them.
...But to have the region’s bright spots lost in generalizations hurts more than helps. The image
of a limping Gulf Coast has the danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. In an age of
global competition, the prize doesn’t go to the one who needs the most, but to the one who
satisfies needs the most. – David Tortorano
April 2011
Editorial/opinion
Building a perception
Building a perception
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