Advertisement Bridget Bergin, Associate Editor, Manufacturing.net As the national economy gains momentum, industries like manufacturing and construction are migrating South to take advantage of states’ right-to-work statuses. At the same time as these industries are growing in the South, the average age of workers getting higher and the interest level from students is waning. I recently had the chance to talk about these and other trends in manufacturing and construction with Dan Parkinson, Industrial Market Sector Leader at Brasfield & Gorrie, one of the largest privately-held construction firms in the country. — Bridget Bergin (BB): The U.S. has seen a Southward migration of the manufacturing and construction industries. Why are major manufacturing and construction companies moving to Southern states, which states have seen the most growth, and how do you see this trend impacting the U.S. manufacturing industry overall? Dan Parkinson (DP): From a macro-level, it is plausible that right-to-work states, state tax incentives, and cheaper utility costs contribute to the attractiveness of southern states for manufacturing operations and new construction projects, espe cially when juxtaposed against the traditional union strongholds in the North. It is also likely that officials in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama are offering these factors as compelling reasons for manufacturers to relocate to their states.   By some accounts, the outlook for new construction activity in the manufacturing sector is positive. Following a survey of senior manufacturing executives, Boston Consulting Group reported that an increasing number of U.S. companies are “reshoring” their manufacturing operations and bringing new construction back to the U.S. from overseas. According to the survey, approximately 20% of companies with annual sales of $1 billion plan to bring their operations stateside from China this year. The executives also indicated that they expect manufacturing in the U.S. will account for nearly half […]