Report: Phoenix Leads Nation in Manufacturing Job Growth. What to know

Article originally posted on AZ Central on January 11, 2024

Metro Phoenix led the nation in new manufacturing jobs announced since 2020, according to a report from commercial real estate firm Newmark.

According to the report, 14 new manufacturing facilities were announced in Phoenix over that time, adding 15,466 new jobs.

Atlanta, Austin, Raleigh and Detroit were the other cities in the top five for manufacturing growth in large metros, according to the report.

TSMC's “gown” building reflects the sun in this photo. Fabrication employees dress in gowns or clean room suits in this building, prior to entering the fabrication structure.

Metro Phoenix’s total includes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which plans to create about 4,500 jobs by 2026. Since TSMC announced its plans to locate in north Phoenix, dozens of companies working alongside the manufacturing giant have also announced plans to locate in the Valley or neighboring Pinal County.

KORE Power, a manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage batteries also chose metro Phoenix for its large-scale battery manufacturing plant and has begun construction on a 1-million-square-foot facility in Buckeye. The facility will start with about 1,250 employees but plans to eventually employ 3,000 people.

The Idaho-based KORE Power will open a 1-million-square-foot "KOREPlex" facility 40 miles west of Phoenix in Buckeye and hire 3,000 full-time employees, the company said. This is a rendering of what KOREPlex could look like.

At an economic forecast presented by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council Thursday, Kristen Stephenson, GPEC’s senior vice president of research and analytics, said manufacturing and construction make up a similar percentage of the region’s employment, with construction employment at about 7% of the region and manufacturing at about 6%.

The Phoenix metro had about 44.2 million square feet of new industrial buildings under construction at the end of the third quarter of 2023, about 11.8% of which is for manufacturing, according to Newmark research.

According to the Newmark report, Phoenix ranked second to Los Angeles for the number of postsecondary degrees or certificates awarded in fields related to advanced manufacturing as of 2021. Those fields include various types of engineering, computer and information systems, management and software development.

 

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