Published: Sunday, October 24, 2010
The South is rising as a rival for dominance in aerospace
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Michael O'Leary / The Herald
In September, workers gather for a ceremony where the final beam was lifted into place at Boeing's new assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing's goal is to assemble seven Dreamliners per month in Everett and three per month in this new building.
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Courtesy of Airbus
An artist’s rendering of Airbus’ engineering center in Mobile, Ala.
For decades, the Puget Sound region reigned as the commercial jet powerhouse.
Then came Toulouse, France-based Airbus, which has led Boeing in airplane production since 2003.
Today, Washington's aerospace industry has a new rival: the South.
The South, including Florida, has a long history of defense and space work. Boeing's decision to locate only the third widebody aircraft factory in the world in South Carolina gives the southern United States a solid footing in the commercial airplanes segment of the industry.
More than a year before Boeing's 2009 pick of South Carolina, aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia with the Teal Group warned of an exodus of aerospace jobs from the Northwest to the South. A troubled economy, low union rate and eager government officials have made the South attractive to large aerospace companies like Boeing.
“Over the next 10 years, (Boeing Commercial Airplanes) will move to southern states with weaker unions and right-to-work laws that diminish union power,” noted Aboulafia, in 2008. “This move will likely happen in phases, with new programs ... established elsewhere and the 787 line shifting locations.”
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi have some of the lowest union membership rates in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 2009. Only Alabama had a union membership rate above 10 percent.
It is in Mobile, Ala., where Airbus' parent company, EADS, will build tankers for the U.S. Air Force should it win the contest against Boeing. Airbus, which has an engineering center with roughly 100 workers in Mobile, said it would also build A330 freighters in Alabama should EADS win the tanker contest.
But Airbus isn't the only aerospace company in Alabama. The Alabama Aerospace Industry Association estimated the state had 82,900 direct aerospace workers at the end of 2008. Boeing also has a substantial defense work force in Alabama, with more than 2,600 workers in the state at the end of September. Alabama is home to more than 300 aerospace companies, according to a report by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and northern Florida banded together to create the Aerospace Alliance. The group supports EADS' bid for the tanker, saying it would bring 13,000 aerospace jobs to the Gulf Coast, which has suffered from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.
Along with natural and man-made disasters, several southern states have seen diminishing jobs in the shipbuilding industry. South Carolina, where Boeing's new 787 final assembly will be located, lost more than 20,000 shipbuilding jobs in the early 1990s. The state has spent much of the past 15 years rebuilding its economy from the loss, said David Ginn, president of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. In July, Northrop Grumman Corp. announced plans to shutter its shipyard near New Orleans in 2013.
As was the case with South Carolina and Boeing, governments in southern states have been willing to move quickly and to offer incentives to attract companies and jobs.
In Georgia, Savannah is home to a Gulfstream business jet factory. The state has offered land as a carrot to industries looking to locate there and has been a contender for several commercial airplane deals, including Boeing's 2003 search for a 787 site and the EADS tanker factory.
South Carolina's Legislature called a special session last October to pass an incentives package that's now estimated at $900 million. Following Boeing's Charleston pick, Buildings Facilities magazine, which compiles an annual list of top cities by industries, bumped Charleston up to No. 4 in its top metro locations for aerospace manufacturing in 2010. That's only one spot behind Seattle. Huntsville, Ala., came in second to Wichita, Kan., where Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems is located and Boeing has defense work.
Government officials in South Carolina, which had roughly 16,000 aerospace-related jobs before Boeing's second line decision, undoubtedly will be looking to add to the state and region's growing aerospace base. The state's governor, Mark Sanford, hopes that other companies will look at Boeing's decision and think “if (South Carolina) is good enough for Boeing, it's good enough for me.”
Then came Toulouse, France-based Airbus, which has led Boeing in airplane production since 2003.
Today, Washington's aerospace industry has a new rival: the South.
The South, including Florida, has a long history of defense and space work. Boeing's decision to locate only the third widebody aircraft factory in the world in South Carolina gives the southern United States a solid footing in the commercial airplanes segment of the industry.
More than a year before Boeing's 2009 pick of South Carolina, aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia with the Teal Group warned of an exodus of aerospace jobs from the Northwest to the South. A troubled economy, low union rate and eager government officials have made the South attractive to large aerospace companies like Boeing.
“Over the next 10 years, (Boeing Commercial Airplanes) will move to southern states with weaker unions and right-to-work laws that diminish union power,” noted Aboulafia, in 2008. “This move will likely happen in phases, with new programs ... established elsewhere and the 787 line shifting locations.”
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi have some of the lowest union membership rates in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 2009. Only Alabama had a union membership rate above 10 percent.
It is in Mobile, Ala., where Airbus' parent company, EADS, will build tankers for the U.S. Air Force should it win the contest against Boeing. Airbus, which has an engineering center with roughly 100 workers in Mobile, said it would also build A330 freighters in Alabama should EADS win the tanker contest.
But Airbus isn't the only aerospace company in Alabama. The Alabama Aerospace Industry Association estimated the state had 82,900 direct aerospace workers at the end of 2008. Boeing also has a substantial defense work force in Alabama, with more than 2,600 workers in the state at the end of September. Alabama is home to more than 300 aerospace companies, according to a report by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and northern Florida banded together to create the Aerospace Alliance. The group supports EADS' bid for the tanker, saying it would bring 13,000 aerospace jobs to the Gulf Coast, which has suffered from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.
Along with natural and man-made disasters, several southern states have seen diminishing jobs in the shipbuilding industry. South Carolina, where Boeing's new 787 final assembly will be located, lost more than 20,000 shipbuilding jobs in the early 1990s. The state has spent much of the past 15 years rebuilding its economy from the loss, said David Ginn, president of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. In July, Northrop Grumman Corp. announced plans to shutter its shipyard near New Orleans in 2013.
As was the case with South Carolina and Boeing, governments in southern states have been willing to move quickly and to offer incentives to attract companies and jobs.
In Georgia, Savannah is home to a Gulfstream business jet factory. The state has offered land as a carrot to industries looking to locate there and has been a contender for several commercial airplane deals, including Boeing's 2003 search for a 787 site and the EADS tanker factory.
South Carolina's Legislature called a special session last October to pass an incentives package that's now estimated at $900 million. Following Boeing's Charleston pick, Buildings Facilities magazine, which compiles an annual list of top cities by industries, bumped Charleston up to No. 4 in its top metro locations for aerospace manufacturing in 2010. That's only one spot behind Seattle. Huntsville, Ala., came in second to Wichita, Kan., where Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems is located and Boeing has defense work.
Government officials in South Carolina, which had roughly 16,000 aerospace-related jobs before Boeing's second line decision, undoubtedly will be looking to add to the state and region's growing aerospace base. The state's governor, Mark Sanford, hopes that other companies will look at Boeing's decision and think “if (South Carolina) is good enough for Boeing, it's good enough for me.”
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