Chapter 5: The North American Manufacturing Core

The USS Independence at Austal USA on Mobile River

Although Mobile is not included in North America’s Manufacturing Core and has mostly been considered a port city, it has become known for manufacturing in recent years. Aerospace, retail, services, construction, medicine, and manufacturing are Mobile's major industries. After experiencing economic decline for several decades, Mobile's economy began to rebound in the late 1980s. Between 1993 and 2003 13,983 new jobs were created as 87 new companies were founded and 399 existing companies were expanded. 1,700 new jobs were created from February 2003 to February 2004. Mobile's Alabama State Docks underwent the largest expansion in its history by expanding its container processing and storage facility and increasing container storage at the docks by over 1,000% at a cost of over $300 million, thus positioning Mobile for rapid container processing growth. As of 2008, the Port of Mobile was the 9th largest by tonnage in the United States. In 2005 Austal USA, based in Mobile, expanded their production facility for US defense and commercial aluminum shipbuilding. Austal announced in November 2010, upon winning another multi billion dollar defense contract, it will yet again expand its facilities in downtown, adding over 2,200 jobs. In 2007, German steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp announced plans for a $4.65 billion steel mill, now in production. It is the largest steel plant in the world with over 1,200 acres under roof at 7.7 million square feet. The Brookley Complex, also known as the Mobile Downtown Airport, is an industrial complex and airport located 3 miles south of the central business district of the city. It is currently the largest industrial and transportation complex in the region with over 100 companies, many of which are aerospace, and 4000 employees on 1,700 acres. Brookley includes the largest private employer in Mobile County, Mobile Aerospace Engineering, a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile,_Alabama#Economy