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Only one large construction project broke ground in this region during 2013, a $300 million Yokohama Tire Corp. plant that will manufacture commercial truck tires in West Point, Miss. However, two fairly large projects are on the drawing boards – a $725 million natural gas-fired power plant and solar facility that Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities plan to build in Muhlenberg County, Ky., that’s in the approval stage. There’s also a $700 million mixed-used project on 145 acres scheduled to break ground in 2014. Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper says the Ovation by developers SouthStar LLC and Highwoods Properties will include over 1 million square feet of office buildings, a 300-room hotel, and 350,000 sq. ft. of retail and dining space.
At 7.9%, unemployment in the East South Central region is higher than the national average, with Kentucky (8.4%), Mississippi (8.5%); and Tennessee (8.5%) lagging the most. There’s at least one indicator that construction may be picking up in some parts of this region -- construction employment is up 13% year-over-year in Mississippi, which had added 6,300 new construction jobs YTY in August.
Acquisition activity in the East South Central Region. The Border States Electric acquisition of Utilcor earlier this year adds to the foothold the company first established in this region with its 2008 acquisition of Harris Electric Supply. Details
ELECTRICAL WHOLESALING TOP 200 DISTRIBUTORS
WITH THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN THIS REGION
Although this region is smaller than many others in terms of sales, it's home to two of the biggest regional distributors in the United States - Mayer Electric Supply and Sonepar's Stuart C. Irby Co. Details
| Rank | Company Name | Town/City | State |
| 13 | Mayer Electric Supply Co. Inc. | Birmingham | AL |
| 111 | Inline Electric Supply Co. Inc. | Huntsville | AL |
| 194 | Lewis Electric Supply Co. Inc. | Muscle Shoals | AL |
| 80 | United Utility Supply Cooperative Corp. | Louisville | KY |
| 182 | Hannan Supply Co. | Paducah | KY |
| 109 | Sequel Electric Supply LLC | Meridian | MS |
| 169 | Robinson Electric Supply Co. | Meridian | MS |
| 147 | Electric Motor Sales & Supply Co. | Chattanooga | TN |
| 199 | Wholesale Supply Group Inc. | Cleveland | TN |
RECENT NEW BRANCH OPENINGS
IN THE EAST SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
If your company has opened a new branch and would like it publicized in Electrical Wholesaling's print edition or on www.ewweb.com, please send the information (and a high-resolution photo if possible to Jim Lucy, EW's chief editor, at [email protected].
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR SALES DATA
Birmingham, Ala.; Louisville, Ky.; Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis, Tenn.; and Jackson, Miss. are the largest electrical markets in this region.
EMPLOYMENT DATA FOR THE EAST SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
You can use the employment data below to calculate sales potential for key customer groups by region, state and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) by using this data and Electrical Wholesaling's 2014 Sales Multipliers. To get these multipliers and to learn how to use them, click here to get to Electrical Wholesaling 2014 Market Planning Guide. Just scroll down and search for "multipliers."
