3 Alabama cities' economies hailed
Mobile leads Forbes' list in expected growth
Friday, February 01, 2008
ROY L. WILLIAMS
News staff writer
Alabama had three cities on Forbes magazine's list of the nation's fastest-growing small metro areas - including Mobile, which business leaders have warned could one day challenge Birmingham as the state's economic center.
Mobile ranked No.1 on the list, which appeared Thursday on the magazine's Web site. Huntsville was No.4, and Auburn-Opelika No.6.
Birmingham-Hoover didn't earn a spot on the list of nation's fastest-growing large metro areas, which was headed by Austin, Texas.
Bill Sisson, vice president of economic development for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Forbes report confirms the economic vitality the Port City is experiencing. Mobile topped the list because its gross metropolitan product - a broad measure of its economy - is expected to grow 34.3 percent between 2007 and 2012.
One reason for that projection is ThyssenKrupp's $3.7 billion steel plant under construction near Mobile. It will employ 2,700 people and create thousands of spinoff jobs.
"Being at the top of this list is the best third-party endorsement we could ever receive," said Sisson, who used to work for the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. "This proves that our economy is on a roll and continues to be recognized by investors throughout the world."
Huntsville, ranked fourth with expected GMP growth of 26.4 percent during the period, was given high marks because it has become a hub for defense, aerospace and technology jobs. Auburn-Opelika has projected GMP growth of 24 percent between 2007 and 2012, Forbes said.
Larry Holt, director of research for the Birmingham chamber, said metro areas such as Mobile, Huntsville and Montgomery have seen a surge thanks to economic projects in recent years. But he added that Birmingham remains vibrant as the state's economic center.
"We think it's worth noting that the Birmingham economy is as large as Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile combined," Holt said.
Forbes didn't provide a figure for Birmingham's expected GMP growth.
Carolyn Trent, an economic analyst for the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research, said the Birmingham-Hoover metro area generated 32.6 percent of the gross state product in 2005, the last year for which data was available. Huntsville was second at 10.6 percent, followed by Mobile at 8.4 percent and Montgomery at 8.6 percent.
"This will certainly have changed over the last two years, but the other metro areas are certainly not close to overtaking the Birmingham-Hoover area as the economic hub of the state," Trent said.
Last year, some business leaders warned that Birmingham could fall behind faster-growing Alabama cities because of a lack of vision and an inability of political officials to work with one another and with business interests.
But Birmingham has advantages. The state's largest metro area has continued to record population growth, despite declines in Jefferson County, Trent said. Between 2000 and 2006, the Birmingham area's population grew 4.6 percent, behind Huntsville's 10 percent and Auburn-Opelika's 9.3 percent but ahead of Mobile's 1.1 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Mobile, which is benefiting from expanded economic activity at the Alabama State Docks and from Retirement Systems of Alabama investments such as the new RSA office tower and the Battle House Hotel, still faces challenges, Trent said.
"The challenge is to grow jobs that provide higher wages, as the (Mobile) area's wages have been historically low," she said.
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rwilliams@bhamnews.com