Construction

In the United States, the industry has around $850 billion in annual revenue according to statistics tracked by the Census Bureau, with an $857 billion annual rate, of which $600 billion is private (split evenly between residential and nonresidential) and the remainder is government. There are about 667,000 firms employing 1 million contractors (200,000 general contractors, 38,000 heavy, and 432,000 specialty); the average contractor employs fewer than 10 employees. As a whole, the industry employs an estimated 5.8 million. A salary survey revealed the differences in remuneration between different roles, sectors and locations in the construction and built environment industry. The results showed that areas of particularly strong growth in the construction industry, such as the Middle East, yield higher average salaries than in the UK for example. Despite adverse economic conditions, the global construction industry has witnessed growth during the past five years and the market is forecast to reach US $8,929 billion with a CAGR of 7.3% over the next five years. The Construction industry consists of establishments primarily engaged in the construction of residential construction, commercial buildings, and infrastructural projects. The industry also includes additions, alterations, maintenance, and repairing activities. The industry is highly fragmented in terms of suppliers and buyers and highly dependent on consumer spending, interest rates, and government spending in different countries.

Consultancy

Management consulting, the practice of helping organizations to improve their performance, operates primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and access to the consultants’ specialized expertise. Consultancies may also provide organizational change-management assistance, development of coaching skills, process analysis, technology implementation, strategy development, or operational improvement services. Management consultants often bring their own proprietary methodologies or frameworks to guide the identification of problems and to serve as the basis for recommendations for more effective or efficient ways of performing work tasks. Management consulting has grown quickly, with growth rates of the industry exceeding 20% during the past 30 years. As a business service, consulting remains highly cyclical and linked to overall economic conditions. Currently, there are three main types of consulting firms. Large, diversified organizations, Medium-sized management consultancies and boutique firms that have focused areas of consulting expertise in specific industries, functional areas, technologies, or regions of the world. The value of the management & marketing consultancy market is calculated as the total revenues received for the provision of corporate strategy services, operations management services, information technology solutions, human resource management services and outsourcing services. The global management & marketing consultancy market has total revenues of $305.0bn, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3%. The operations management segment is the market’s most lucrative, with total revenues of $93bn, equivalent to 30.5% of the market’s overall value. The performance of the market is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 7% during the next 5 years, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $427.9bn.

Consumer Goods

In economics, any commodity which is produced and subsequently consumed by the consumer, to satisfy its current wants or needs, is a consumer good or final good. Consumer goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the production of another good. For example, a microwave oven or a bicycle which is sold to a consumer is a final good or consumer good, whereas the components which are sold to be used in those goods are called intermediate goods. For example, textiles or transistors which can be used to make some further goods. When used in measures of national income and output, the term “final goods” only includes new goods. For instance, the GDP excludes items counted in an earlier year to prevent double counting of production based on resales of the same item second and third hand. In this context the economic definition of goods includes what are commonly known as services. Manufactured goods are goods that have been processed in any way. As such, they are the opposite of raw materials, but include intermediate goods as well as final goods. Consumer goods are goods which are intended for everyday private consumption. They cover a large product portfolio including food and non-food categories in order to meet consumer demand. They are further classified in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and slow moving consumer goods (SMCG). The definitions are based on how fast products are sold to the customer, a determining factor in the rotation of goods. SMCG are goods with a useful life longer than a year comprising items such as household appliances, furniture and home improvement products. These items have a lower sales frequency and are not rotating as rapidly as FMCG. The competitive landscape of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is shaped by global leading CPG companies such as US-based Procter & Gamble (P&G), Unilever, L’Oréal and Nestlé. Many companies invest large amounts of money for the development of new products in accordance with recent market trends and the latest research findings. As many manufacturers operate globally, product packaging and labeling regulations have to be fulfilled in order to meet the country-specific requirements. In addition, product formulas may have to be adapted to suit different consumer tastes.

Dallas-TX
Dallas, TX

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters for publicly traded companies in the United States. The city of Dallas has 12 Fortune 500 companies and the DFW region as a whole has 20. Comerica Bank and AT&T located their headquarters in Dallas. Irving is home to four Fortune 500 companies of its own, including ExxonMobil, the most profitable company in the world and the second largest by revenue, Kimberly-Clark, Fluor (engineering), and Commercial Metals. Additional companies headquartered in the Metroplex include Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, RadioShack, Neiman Marcus, 7-Eleven, Brinker International, AMS Pictures, id Software, ENSCO Offshore Drilling, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Zales and Fossil. Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include HP Enterprise Services, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and JCPenney. Many of these companies – and others throughout the DFW metroplex – comprise the Dallas Regional Chamber.

Appleton Greene
Denver, CO

The Denver MSA is the 18th largest metro economy in the United States. Denver’s economy is based partially on its geographic position and its connection to some of the major transportation systems of the country. Because Denver is the largest city within 500 miles (800 km), it has become a natural location for storage and distribution of goods and services to the Mountain States, Southwest states, as well as all western states. Geography also allows Denver to have a considerable government presence, with many federal agencies based or having offices in the Denver area. Along with federal agencies come many companies based on US defense and space projects, and more jobs are brought to the city by virtue of its being the capital of the state of Colorado. The Denver area is home to the former nuclear weapons plant Rocky Flats, the Denver Federal Center, the Denver Mint and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Food & Beverage

The food industry is a complex, global collective of diverse businesses that supply much of the food energy consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry. The food industry includes: Regulation: local, regional, national and international rules and regulations for food production and sale, including food quality and food safety, and industry lobbying activities; Education: academic, vocational, consultancy; Research and development: food technology; Financial services insurance, credit; Manufacturing: agrochemicals, seed, farm machinery and supplies, agricultural construction, etc; Agriculture: raising of crops and livestock, seafood; Food processing: preparation of fresh products for market, manufacture of prepared food products; Marketing: promotion of generic products (e.g. milk board), new products, public opinion, through advertising, packaging, public relations, etc; Wholesale and distribution: warehousing, transportation, logistics; Retailing. The global food and beverage retail industry has witnessed significant growth over the last five years and is expected to continue its growth momentum, reaching approximately US $5,776 billion with a CAGR of 5% over the next five years. Macroeconomic factors such as burgeoning GDP, increasing consumer spending and changing lifestyle, taste, and preferences are expected to drive the industry over the forecast period.

KansasCity
Kansas City, MO

The Greater Kansas City area is close to the geographical center of the United States. This makes it well located for distribution, manufacturing, warehousing and intermodal transportation. The economy in the Kansas City area is diverse. Major manufacturing employers are Hallmark Cards, Harmon Industries, Inc., and American Italian Pasta, the largest producer of pasta in North America. Federal Express, Wausau Supply, Procter & Gamble, and H&R Block either have or are in the process of relocating significant operations or expanding existing ones in the area. The city is home to the corporate headquarters for DST Systems, automated recordkeeping for the mutual fund industry, Nextel Corp., YRC Worldwide, Hallmark Cards, Russell Stover Candies, H&R Block, and Novastar Financial. “Prosperity at a Crossroads” found that Greater Kansas City was weak in the number of firms engaging in domestic and international trade, the quality of human capital and capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, three drivers they have identified for regional economic growth. As an example, net exports as a share of its overall economy has declined significantly since 1990. Along with this the percentage of the number of people with a bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering and math is below national averages, and those with these skills are leaving the area for places outside of the Midwest. The economic growth rate for the area is expected to be above national averages. The strongest job growth is expected to be in the services industry followed by construction and real estate. Manufacturing employment is expected to be fairly flat with output gains coming from productivity improvements. Slight employment increases are expected in the transportation and wholesale industries because of large investments being made in new distribution facilities, such as those surrounding the BNSF intermodal center in southwest Johnson County. Increases in automation will allow for substantial increases in freight while employing roughly the same number of people. Growth in construction employment is expected to continue to increase as is the professional, technical and scientific services industry, which accounts for over 25% of the areas employment growth rates. The biggest declining sector is traditional retail. As internet sales account for more of the local spending, traditional retailers will be forced to come up with better and more cost effective methods. The number of retail workers in the Greater Kansas City economy is forecast to decline.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the production of merchandise for use or sale using labor and machines, tools, chemical and biological processing, or formulation. In a free market economy, manufacturing is usually directed toward the mass production of products for sale to consumers at a profit. In a collectivist economy, manufacturing is more frequently directed by the state to supply a centrally planned economy. In mixed market economies, manufacturing occurs under some degree of government regulation. Modern manufacturing includes all intermediate processes required for the production and integration of a product’s components. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers use the term fabrication instead. The manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design. According to some economists, manufacturing is a wealth-producing sector of an economy, whereas a service sector tends to be wealth-consuming. Emerging technologies have provided some new growth in advanced manufacturing employment opportunities in the Manufacturing Belt in the United States. Manufacturing provides important material support for national infrastructure and for national defense. On the other hand, most manufacturing may involve significant social and environmental costs. The clean-up costs of hazardous waste, for example, may outweigh the benefits of a product that creates it. Hazardous materials may expose workers to health risks. These costs are now well known and there is effort to address them by improving efficiency, reducing waste, using industrial symbiosis, and eliminating harmful chemicals. The increased use of technologies such as 3D printing also offer the potential to reduce the environmental impact of producing finished goods through distributed manufacturing.

Minneapolis-MN
Minneapolis, MN

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is the second largest economic center in the Midwest, behind Chicago. The economy of Minneapolis today is based in commerce, finance, rail and trucking services, health care, and industry. Smaller components are in publishing, milling, food processing, graphic arts, insurance, education, and high technology. Industry produces metal and automotive products, chemical and agricultural products, electronics, computers, precision medical instruments and devices, plastics, and machinery. The city at one time produced farm implements. Five Fortune 500 corporations make their headquarters within the city limits of Minneapolis: Target, U.S. Bancorp, Xcel Energy, Ameriprise Financial and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The city’s largest employers are Target, University of Minnesota, Allina Health, Fairview Health Services, Wells Fargo, Hennepin County, Ameriprise, Hennepin County Medical Center, U.S. Bancorp, City of Minneapolis, Xcel Energy, Capella Education Company, RBC Wealth Management, Macy’s, TCF Financial, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Thrivent, and the Star Tribune. Foreign companies with U.S. offices in Minneapolis include Accenture, Canadian Pacific, Coloplast, RBC and ING Group

Salt-Lake-City
Salt Lake City, UT

One Fortune 500 company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Huntsman Corporation and two Fortune 1000 companies, Zions Bancorporation and Questar Corporation. AlphaGraphics, Sinclair Oil, Franklin Covey, and Overstock.com are smaller companies that are located around SLC. Adobe, Unisys. Micron, and 3M are a few of the large technology companies with major operations in the area. The Salt Lake area houses about 44% of Utah’s labor force and joins the state of Utah with having the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation. The economy of SLC and surrounding areas continues a strong rebound from the past recession and the rate of growth is almost twice that of the national rate. The major employers of the area are Delta Airlines, University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Local, state and federal governments are the number one employer followed by trade, transportation, utilities, professional and business services, and health and health educational services. These areas along with construction had the strongest growth in employment. SLC is the largest banking center in the United States and is known as the ‘Crossroads of the West” because of its central location in the western United States. The distance from Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Phoenix and Seattle are approximately the same. This is the reason many regional transportation centers are located in the area. Though less than half of the people living in the SLC area are Mormon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a significant and positive impact on the culture of the SLC area. The people are generally healthy, hardworking and responsible. There is a high birth rate that is contributing to the population growth. Young Mormon men are strongly encouraged, if not required to spend two years in the mission field. These men return with fluent foreign language skills as well as sales skills. When these young people return from the mission fields they enter the workforce. They tend to be knowledgeable and highly educated in the technical and business fields as well as possessing world experiences, making them excellent employees.

Go to Top