Oklahoma Manufacturing Jobs Fell 4.5% According To Industrial Directory - September 18, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Ratcliff Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (847) 864-9440 ext. 241 jratcliff [at] manufacturersnews.com
EVANSTON, Ill, September 21st, 2009 /Manufacturers’ News, Inc./-- Industrial employment in Oklahoma fell 4.5% over the past twelve months according to the 2010 Oklahoma Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Oklahoma lost 9,650 industrial jobs and 74 manufacturers between July 2008 and July 2009, the sharpest decline MNI has ever reported in the seventeen years it has been tracking the state’s industry.
Manufacturers’ News reports Oklahoma is now home to 6,063 manufacturers employing 204,545 workers.
“As with the entire nation, the recession continues to affect Oklahoma’s industrial sectors, with sectors related to the housing market taking the biggest hit,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “However, the state’s strong exports and investments in green technology should help lay the groundwork for recovery.”
Sectors related to housing and construction saw some of the worst drops in employment with jobs in furniture/fixtures down 28% and lumber/wood down 11.8%.
Oklahoma’s largest sectors fared better over the year with employment in industrial machinery and equipment steady since July 2008, currently the state’s top sector at 34,571 jobs. Fabricated metal products account for 24,610 jobs, down 1.2%, while third-ranked food products manufacturing accounts for 21,599 jobs, down 1.7% over the past twelve months.
All other industrial sectors in Oklahoma lost jobs within the past year and included textiles/apparel manufacturing, down 13.8%; transportation equipment down 13.3%; instruments and related products down 13.2%; primary metals down 13.2%; chemicals down 4.9%; stone/clay/glass down 4.8%; printing/publishing down 4.2% and electronics down 2.4%.
Companies shutting down include Tyson Foods, which closed its Ponca City processed meat facility in March, aerospace parts manufacturer Labinal, Inc., which closed in October, and cabinetmaker Penloyd, which shuttered its Tulsa facility in January.
Bright spots for the state include the expansion of Spirit Aerosystems in Tulsa, the opening of a Tiger Truck assembly plant in Poteau, which will assemble trucks for Chinese auto manufacturer ChangAn Automobile, and the opening of a Umicore facility that will manufacture parts for solar panels.
Manufacturers’ News reports Southeast Oklahoma saw the largest drop in employment, down 7.9% over the year with the region currently accounting for 19,627 jobs. Manufacturing employment declined 7% in Northeast Oklahoma, with the region currently home to 95,867 jobs or 47% of the state. Southwest Oklahoma suffered a 1.7% drop and is currently home to 24,950 jobs, while employment remained steady in Northwest Oklahoma with the region currently home to 63,561 jobs.
MNI’s city data shows Tulsa is Oklahoma’s top city for manufacturing employment, home to 47,817 jobs, down 2.3% over the year. Second-ranked Oklahoma City accounts for 41,805 jobs, with employment down 1.8%. Broken Arrow is home to 5,894 industrial jobs, down 4.5% over the year, while Ponca City accounts for 4,477 jobs, down 15%. Muskogee is home to 3,490, down 2.6% over the past twelve months.
Detailed profiles of Oklahoma’s 6,063 manufacturers and 728 industrial distributors can be found in the 2010 Oklahoma Manufacturers Register, available in print for $106 and on CD-ROM from $218. Each profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information (phone, web, e-mail), 19,175 executives by name and title, product(s) manufactured, annual sales, number of employees, and more. Visitors to mnileads.com may generate custom profiles of manufacturers using thirteen different criteria, including area or zip code, county, SIC, sales volume, number of employees, and more.
Manufacturers’ News, Inc., publisher of manufacturers’ directories since 1912, compiles and produces manufacturing guides, statistics and databases for all 50 states. MNI also maintains IndustryNet.com, an industrial search engine designed specifically for locating manufacturers and suppliers nationwide. For more information, contact Manufacturers’ News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201, 847-864-7000, FAX 847-332-1100.
"My real estate clients use it to target specific manufacturing industries, size of company, zip code areas, and do mailings monthly. It's the best in the industry." M.L. Thompson, President, THEO, Inc.
