Kentucky Manufacturing Jobs Declined 11.1% Over Twenty-Four Months

Contact: Jennifer Ratcliff
Manufacturers’ News, Inc.
(847) 864-9440 ext. 241
jratcliff [at] manufacturersnews.com


EVANSTON, Ill, November 1st, 2010 /Manufacturers’ News, Inc./-- Industrial employment in Kentucky fell 11.1% over the past twenty-four months according to the 2011 Kentucky Manufacturers Register®, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Kentucky lost 34,765 manufacturing jobs and 344 plants over the past two years.

Manufacturers’ News reports Kentucky is now home to 5,384 manufacturers employing 277,616 workers.

“Decreased demand continues to affect Kentucky manufacturing, particularly the transportation sector and industries related to the housing market,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “But losses have definitely slowed over the past year and the state’s favorable business climate continues to help improve the outlook.”

Bright spots for the state include the openings of several new plants including Kentucky Copper Inc.’s operation in Morgantown; Mountain Valley Recycling’s facility in Frankfort; Coating Excellence International’s packaging company in Hebron; WL Plastic’s plant in Elizabethtown; and Olympic Steel’s factory in Mount Sterling. Kentucky manufacturers reporting expansions include ZF Steering; Magna Car Top Systems; Integrated Pharmaceutical Packaging; Polyair Corporation; and Raytheon Missile Systems.

Employment in the transportation sector experienced the sharpest decline, down 20.5% over the past two years, following the closures of ArvinMeritor’s plant in Carrollton and Intertech Systems in Bardstown, among others. Transportation equipment manufacturing remains Kentucky’s largest sector by employment, with 37,275 of the state’s industrial jobs.

Food products manufacturing has overtaken industrial machinery and equipment as Kentucky’s second-largest industrial sector by employment with 33,653 jobs, up 3% over the past twenty-four months. Third-ranked industrial machinery and equipment accounts for 30,454 jobs, down 16% over the past two years, due partially to layoffs at Emerson Power Transmission and to the closure of Modine Manufacturing Co.

Most sectors in Kentucky lost jobs within the past twenty-four months and included lumber/wood, down 20%; fabricated metals down 18.4%; furniture/fixtures down 16.3%; textiles/apparel down 14%; primary metals down 13.4%; electronics down 11.5%; rubber/plastics down 8.5%; stone/clay/glass down 8.2%; chemicals down 4.1%; and printing/publishing down 1.3%. Paper products saw a gain of 1.3%, according to MNI.

According to the industrial directory, Northeast Kentucky accounts for the largest share of Kentucky’s industrial employment with 154,017 manufacturing jobs, down 10% over the past twenty-four months. Southeast Kentucky ranks second at 45,209 manufacturing jobs, down 18.4% over two years. Southwest Kentucky is home to 43,436 industrial jobs, down 11%, while the Northwest is home to 34,954 jobs, down 10.1%.

MNI’s city data shows Louisville is Kentucky’s top city for manufacturing employment, with 50,267 jobs, down 10.5% over the past twenty-four months. Lexington ranks second with 20,772 jobs, down 6.6% over two years while Georgetown accounts for 9,634 jobs, down 2.2% over the past twenty-four months. Fourth-ranked Florence saw manufacturing employment increase 4% over the past two years, and is currently home to 9,237 industrial jobs. Bowling Green industrial jobs declined 19.6%, with the fifth-ranked city now home to 9,165 jobs.

Detailed profiles of Kentucky’s 5,384 manufacturers and 697 industrial distributors can be found in the 2011 Kentucky Manufacturers Register®, available in print for $105 and on CD-ROM from $166. Each profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information (phone, web, e-mail), 20,960 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.