Made in America: Denso breaks ground on regional warehouse

Editor’s note: Each Sunday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Made In America,” a round-up of state and global manufacturing news.

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DENSO BREAKS GROUND ON REGIONAL WAREHOUSE
Denso Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. (DMTN) broke ground on a 186,528 square foot consolidated warehouse, located on its Maryville, Tenn. campus. The warehouse, which is due to be complete by October 2017, will allow Denso to consolidate its various warehouse operations in the Maryville area and free up manufacturing space that can be used to produce products, such as head-up displays, instrument clusters and electronic control units.

The Tennessee warehouse is part of a $400 million investment announced by the Japanese auto parts giant last year to expand manufacturing lines, which would result in the creation of 500 new jobs. In North America, DENSO employs more than 22,000 people at 30 consolidated companies and affiliates. Of these, 25 are manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, including the company’s plant in Osceola.

ARKANSAS MIDLAND RAILROAD TO OFFER FIRST ETHANOL SHIPMENTS TO CENTRAL ARKANSAS FUEL MARKET
Publicly-traded Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced on Friday (July 22) that beginning this fall, its Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, Inc. (AKMD) subsidiary will offer the first ethanol unit train solution for the North Little Rock and surrounding gasoline-blending markets, serving the JP Energy terminal, which is the largest terminal at North Little Rock’s tank farm complex. Unit trains, which are able to handle up to 108 railcars, will be unloaded directly to JP Energy’s ethanol storage tanks on premises for onsite blending or direct outbound truck loading.

Prior to this, the local ethanol market was served only by truck deliveries and single-car rail shipments. With the EPA’s mandate to increase the amount of biofuel mixed into the fuel supply, demand for ethanol blending is expected to increase, making a strong market for ethanol use in North Little Rock, company officials said.

TEXAS LOST INDUSTRIAL JOBS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE RECESSION
Manufacturing employment in Texas declined for the first time since the recession, reports the 2016 Texas Manufacturers Register, an industrial database and directory published by Manufacturers’ News Inc. (MNI) in Evanston, Ill.

According to MNI’s industrial database, manufacturers in Texas shed 7,379 jobs, or a half percent, between May 2015 and May 2016. Texas’ 22,232 manufacturers employ 1,243,071 in the state, reports MNI, ranking it first in the nation for both number of manufacturers and manufacturing jobs.

Since April 2010, Texas has added 81,744 jobs, or 7%, recovering all of the jobs lost during the recession. The past year’s survey of Texas manufacturers marks the first time the state has shed industrial jobs since the 2009-2010 survey period.

The oil and gas extraction sector has led Texas’ post-recession job gains, growing 90% from 2007-2015, but the industry declined for the first time in a near decade, falling 2.9% over the past twelve months. The oil/gas extraction sector ranks second in Texas for industrial employment, employing 141,717.

For the full report, visit here.