Illinois Manufacturers' Association touts $600 million impact on state's GDP

[August 04, 2022]  By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Manufacturers' Association is touring the state highlighting a study that shows the economic impact manufacturing has on the Land of Lincoln.

The report said the sector generates around $600 million annually to the state’s Gross Domestic Product and creates 1.7 million jobs.

Conducted by independent economists at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, the study found that the state’s manufacturing industry has an employment multiplier of 2.7, meaning that for every 10 jobs directly created by the sector, another 17 jobs are created elsewhere in Illinois.

IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler said Illinois should be leading the world in manufacturing.

“When you look at the attributes that we have in the state of Illinois, we have a central location, we have a great infrastructure system, the roads, the bridges, the waterways, the airports,” said Denzler. “We have all these attributes going for us and if we can get a few more policies correct, then we think it would really add rocket fuel to us and we’d really take off.”

The study found a majority of the manufacturing base in Illinois is derived from five subsectors: food and agriculture manufacturing, metal fabrication, heavy equipment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and transportation equipment manufacturing.

At the same time, Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Tyson Foods, Inc. Wednesday, as well as state and local officials, to announce a new expansion of Tyson’s Caseyville facility. The company's commitment to expand the facility is expected to bring a $180 million investment and create 250 new jobs.

Meanwhile, electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Motors recently announced company-wide layoffs, cutting 6% of its 14,000 workforce.

“The move is part of a cost-cutting effort to ensure Rivian can continue to grow its manufacturing operations without raising additional funds,” Chief Executive RJ Scaringe wrote in the email disclosing the layoffs.

Initially, the company said the layoffs would not affect its Normal, Illinois plant, but then officials laid off 50 non-manufacturing positions.

In order to purchase the former Mitsubishi plant, Rivian asked for hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual property tax breaks, plus a $1 million grant from the town of Normal. In return, the company promised to hire 500 full-time workers within five years.

Rivian is scheduled to release second-quarter results on Aug. 12.

Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.