Most of the big stories in Snohomish County’s economy in 2006 revolved around the Boeing Co.’s Everett plant, and 2007 will bring more of the same.
This past year, the president of China stopped by the aerospace company’s facility here, work on putting together the first 787 moved forward and Boeing was poised to outsell Airbus for the first time in five years.
The company’s frantic hiring pace also helped to make the county one of the state’s fast-growing in economic terms.
The new year should bring the first flight of the Dreamliner, condominiums rising from Everett’s waterfront and the construction of more houses and stores across the county.
To the north, the Tulalip Tribes’ $130 million, 12-story hotel and conference center will take shape next to the expansive casino at Quil Ceda Village.
Even though all signs point to generally good economic times to continue locally, some sectors will be more subdued. As 2006 wound down, the county’s largest biotechnology and high-tech companies both began layoffs.
Here are some of the things to watch in the local business world during 2007.
Job growth
Snohomish County has led the state in job growth in 2006.
In November, for example, the county added 2,100 jobs, nearly half the amount added in the entire state. Last month, the county was growing at an annual rate of 4.8 percent, compared with 3.2 for the state as a whole.
Boeing accounted for a lot of the growth, adding 500 people to the payroll. But most other sectors also added workers, a sign that the local economy is showing broad growth.
Aerospace
As 2006 came to a close, Boeing looked to reclaim its lead in airplane orders over European rival Airbus for the first time in five years. The company continued to bring in orders for its fastest-selling plane to date: the 787 Dreamliner. And Boeing secured its first order for the passenger version of its updated 747 following a flurry of requests for the 747-8 Freighter.
Bill Conerly, a regional economist, doesn’t see a slowdown for Boeing or the aerospace market in 2007. In Asia, air travel is only beginning to enjoy the level of interest it has in North America and Europe over the past couple of decades. As the economy of China continues to grow, more and more mid- to lower-income families will have the means to travel, increasing demand for aircraft in the region, he said.
Long-term, the company can look forward to business opportunities in populous countries such as Russia and India.
With a diverse customer base and a steady economy, Boeing and local aerospace businesses should enjoy another good year in 2007.
Retail
A bustling local economy and continued population growth means the retail explosion of the past few years in Snohomish County will continue.
New supermarkets are popping up in southeast Everett and elsewhere, as are plenty of neighborhood shopping centers and strip malls closer to where new houses are being built.
Everett Mall, which opened a new movie theater during 2006, is adding a few big tenants in 2007. In the space that Mervyn’s is leaving, LA Fitness will move in and Steve &Barry’s University Sportswear plans a 78,000-square-foot store.
In north Marysville, a slew of new stores are scheduled to join Costco and Target at the Lakewood Crossing center. Across the freeway, construction on a new 90,000-square-foot WinCo Foods store near Kohl’s has begun. Snohomish will see Home Depot and Fred Meyer rise from a new shopping center along Bickford Avenue.
Wal-Mart, which opened its first Everett store in 2006, is still working to get final approvals for new stores in Arlington, Marysville and Mill Creek.
Port of Everett
At the Port of Everett, 2006 was the year that shipping rebounded dramatically.
Executive director John Mohr said ship visits grew from 39 in 2005 to 120 this year, which helped boost the number of direct and indirect jobs stimulated by the port from 5,300 to 6,500, a 35 percent increase.
Part of the increase stemmed from many years of work to establish direct shipping runs between Everett and Asia. Part of it also stemmed from a dramatic increase in shipping to the West Coast.
Next year, the ships that show up should have more cargo coming to and from Everett, Mohr said.
The port also plans to received monthly visits of cement from Asia as Lehigh Cement uses a storage dome at the port for a Northwest distributing point for the building material, now in short supply.
Things planned for many years by the port should also come alive in 2007.
For example, a new marina will open, adding 155 slips to what’s already among the biggest marinas on the West Coast.
Maritime Trust Corp., which is building a major development next door, wants to break ground soon on 159 condos, the first of about 660 planned for its $400 million development.
Bayside Marine is also breaking ground soon on its major marine sales, repair and storage facilities, the anchor for the new development’s Craftsman District for water-related businesses.
“That will be exciting,” Mohr said.
Biotechnology
The impending buyout of ICOS Corp. in Bothell looked like it would be the biggest local biotech story of 2006.
Now, it will probably dominate the biotech headlines of the new year, as the shareholders vote on the company’s acquisition by Eli Lilly &Co. was delayed until late January.
Assuming the $2.3 billion deal goes through, it will mean the end of the largest biotech company based in Washington. Lilly officials have said all 700 ICOS employees will lose their jobs as the company’s sprawling offices and labs in Bothell close.
“How much of an impact it will have on biotech here will depend on whether some of the ICOS employees take some of the money they make and go out and do something with it,” said David Miller, president of Biotech Stock Research in Seattle.
He also predicted more local biotech companies will get scooped up in the industry’s acquisition trend. Especially tempting are companies such as Bothell’s Sonus Pharmaceuticals and Seattle Genetics, which have impressive drug candidates moving toward possible approval in the coming years.
In Lynnwood, the building housing Berlex’s biotech drug manufacturing facility is virtually done. But 2007 will be a “year of preparation” there, said Berlex spokeswoman Cathy Keck Anderson. The company hopes to submit its application to get the $70 million facility approved by federal regulators in 2008.
High technology
At the beginning of this past year, Intermec Inc. had completed an internal reorganization and looked ready to build on the strong sales growth it experienced in 2005.
As the calendar turns over to 2007, the company is reorganizing again and trying to rebound from a sales slump that hit last summer.
After third quarter revenue to the maker of handheld computers and inventory tracking technology fell 11 percent. the Everett-based company trimmed its worldwide work force of 2,500 by 9 percent.
For local tech consumers, however, 2007 could offer more choices. Verizon will continue to expand its fiber-to-the-home network called FiOS in parts of Snohomish County. Late in 2006, Clearwire began offering its wireless high-speed Internet access in the central and south portions of the county.
As the competition among providers of telephone, Internet and television services increases, Comcast and Verizon both have been on hiring sprees in the local area. In Lynnwood, Comcast hopes to open its newest service call center in the summer.
Banking
Community banks continue to do well in Snohomish County. In 2006, three community banks – Bank of Everett and Mountain Pacific Bank in Everett and UniBank in Lynnwood – opened up in Snohomish County and got off to a good start.
UniBank attracted $23 million in initial investments when it was only authorized for $20.2 million leading the bank, which caters to the Asian community, to return money to investors. In October, Mountain Pacific raised almost double what any other bank in Snohomish County had in its initial stock offering.
As 2007 begins, the Bank of Everett has been open six months and is hitting its budgeted numbers, said Mike Deller, the bank’s founder and president.
“I think it’s a very good time to be in community banking,” Deller said.
Herald writers Mike Benbow and Michelle Dunlop contributed to this report.
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