Hyundai's Swift Growth Lifts Alabama's Economy

 

By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: February 18, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Few people in this city 800 miles south of Detroit cared much about the auto industry until Hyundai announced it would build cars here nine years ago.

These days, Montgomery cannot stop talking about it.

Hyundai and its sister company, Kia, which opened a plant last year just across the Georgia state line, have brought thousands of well-paying jobs to the region and even helped nurture a little Korean culture in Montgomery, the first capital of the old Confederacy. Hyundai is running its Montgomery plant almost nonstop. Rarely do more than a few weeks pass without word that another parts supplier has dozens of new positions to fill, typically offering good benefits and double the pay that the average Alabaman earns.

Hyundai, which will observe its 25th anniversary selling vehicles to American drivers on Sunday, was little more than an ambitious, second-tier brand when it chose to build its first United States car factory just south of Montgomery. But during the recent recession, the South Korean company thrived as Americans sought out cheap cars just as Hyundais were improving in quality.

In 2010, Hyundai and Kia each posted their highest sales in the United States and, taken together, surged ahead of Ford Motor to become fourth-largest automaker worldwide. Hyundai built 300,000 cars in Montgomery last year and sold most of them in the United States.

  

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Regions Financial's chief economist urges incentives for job training, hiring

 

Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:30 AM
By Marian Accardi, The Huntsville Times

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Unemployment continues to plague the economy, said Regions Financial's chief economist, who advocates a package of incentives to help the U.S. "job engine."

"Unemployment is holding up the whole economy," said Robert "Bob" Allsbrook, chief economist of the Birmingham-based bank, "because it affects consumer spending."

Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity, though "ultimately all spending is dependent on the consumer," said Allsbrook, who was in Huntsville last week to talk to a group of North Alabama legislators and members of Regions local advisory board.

One of Allsbrook's charts showed the nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate for the Huntsville metro area was 7.1 percent in December, while Alabama's rate was 8.9 percent and the U.S. rate was 9.1 percent.

"I think we're stuck at these levels for the rest of the year," Allsbrook said, though they may fluctuate up or down by half a percentage point. Factors that may cause fluctuations for individual metro areas are teacher layoffs and increased tourism-related summer hiring. Here in Huntsville last week, the school board voted to lay off 137 probationary support employees as part of a reduction in force, or RIF, plan.

The jobless rates for the Huntsville metro area and metro areas of university towns such as Auburn and Tuscaloosa will continue to fare better than the state and much better than the national rate, Allsbrook said.

Allsbrook expects Alabama's jobless rate to fluctuate between 8 and 9 percent and the national rate to bounce between 9 to 10 percent for the rest of the year.

  

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Huntsville celebrates 'Engineers Week'

 

 

 

Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:10 AM

By Budd McLaughlin, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Not to say that engineers are a major cog in Huntsville's economy, but they are a major cog in Huntsville's economy.

 

And we're not talking sales of pocket protectors, either.

 

"I don't think I can say how important engineering is. ... The city was basically built on it," said Phil Williams, the co-founder of Synapse Wireless and not an engineer.

 

And another business owner takes it a step further.

 

"It's critical ... it's the backbone of Huntsville," said Michael Durant, president/CEO of Pinnacle Solutions. "I see companies looking at us because of engineering. It's a huge discriminator for us."

 

Starting today, the city and the University of Alabama in Huntsville celebrate the 60th anniversary of Engineers Week. There are several events on tap, including the annual civil engineering challenge and E-week professional banquet.

 

"The College of Engineering at (UAH) has an outstanding record of reaching out to students in grades K-12, and in local community colleges. We view these students as potential future engineers, who will be working in an interconnected world on developing technologies and solutions to increasingly complex problems," said Dr. Shankar Mahalingam, dean of the College of Engineering.

 

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Huntsville Times link