By Subterranean (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Lansing, Michigan, is among the bright spots for electrical sales growth in the South Central NAED region, posting significant increases in industrial employment.
Lansing, Michigan, is among the bright spots for electrical sales growth in the South Central NAED region, posting significant increases in industrial employment.
Lansing, Michigan, is among the bright spots for electrical sales growth in the South Central NAED region, posting significant increases in industrial employment.
Lansing, Michigan, is among the bright spots for electrical sales growth in the South Central NAED region, posting significant increases in industrial employment.
Lansing, Michigan, is among the bright spots for electrical sales growth in the South Central NAED region, posting significant increases in industrial employment.

EM Data Points to a Mix of Metro Stars and Soft Markets in NAED South Central Region

Feb. 10, 2017
Go to the data: Electrical Contractor and Industrial Sales Potential for NAED’s South Central Region

NAED’s eclectic South Central Region touches on a diverse array of metropolitan areas with a dizzying assortment of micro-economic climates. Included in this sprawling region of 17 states are some pockets of growth in the industrial Midwest, where the Lansing-East Lansing, MI and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) are enjoying an increase of industrial employment year-over-year (YOY) of about 4%. On the flip side, a good-sized handful of markets  are showing YOY industrial employment growth closer to the national manufacturing employment growth rate of  -0.2%.

The construction market in the NAED South Central is a different story, with plenty of metros topping the 1.8% gains in total U.S. construction employment YOY through Dec. 2016. Construction employment is up 10.6% YOY in Iowa, although some of this growth may be attributed to a flurry of highway construction projects in the state.  Individual metros with surging total contractor employment growth include Nashville, TN; Lake Charles, LA; Tampa, Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Orlando, Jacksonville, FL, Des Moines, IA; Charlotte, NC; St. Louis, MO;  and Atlanta, GA.

While the 2016 year-end data on electrical contractor employment for these cities from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics won’t be in for quite a while, electrical contractors typically account for 13% of total construction employment. When you consider that every electrical contractor employee accounts for roughly $61,512 in sales potential, as you can see in the chart on pages 7-8, any growth in construction employment has a direct impact on bottom-dollar sales in the electrical wholesaling industry.