The U.S. shale boom spurred strong sales and employment growth in the steel, iron, fabricated metals and machinery manufacturing industries from 2010-12, according to a new report. Those industries had collective sales and employment growth of 17% and 9.7%, respectively, in metropolitan areas during that period. Energy intensive manufacturing industries have driven 62% of the employment growth in metro areas since 2010 and nearly 6% of the jobs recovered since the recession.
The report’s authors attribute the growth to demand for new pipelines and mining equipment in shale oil and gas plays. In addition, the greater availability of domestic oil and gas has boosted manufacturing of plastic, rubber, resin and chemicals, resulting in a 2.6% employment increase across all metro areas between 2011 and 2012.
The study was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Council on Metro Economies and the New American City and conducted by IHS Global Insight.
