Media Center
Media Center
Mobile on the Move. Mobile’s expansive growth and diversification is
a hot topic in well-respected economic development trade journals across the
U.S. The area has been ranked one of the nation’s top growing metro areas and
best places to live. Its wise and aggressive team approach to winning the largest nongovernment economic development project in U.S. history – ThyssenKrupp - has been recognized across the globe.
Find out what the experts are saying about the Mobile Area’s advantages and the Chamber’s economic development team by clicking on the links below.
 April 2011 America's Cities of the Future 2011/12 fDi (Foreign Direct Investment) |
In its first ever ranking of
America’s Cities of the Future 2011/2012, fDi Magazine ranked Mobile in the
No. 10 spot among small cities defined as those with a population of 100,000
to 250,000. Published by the Financial Times, fDi has a circulation of
15,000 corporate readers. The research published in the magazine’s April issue weighed 60 criteria from economic potential to business friendliness, and highlights the economic, business and financial strengths of 400 cities in North and South America. |
 April 2011 Ten Pro Business Beach Communities Top Ten Comeback Kids Southern Business & Development |
Southern Business and Development recognized the Mobile area’s
economic efforts several times in its Winter 2011 “Top 10” issue.
Mobile Bay was listed among the Top 10 “Pro-Business” beach
communities, because of its prime location, ready workforce and many
other resources. Also, listed in the article was Baldwin County,
Mobile’s regional partner located across the bay. The magazine also ranked Mobile as a Top 10 “Comeback Kid” for the area’s job growth even after losing the U.S. Air Force tanker bid. The article credits jobs at ThyssenKrupp and Austal for elevating Alabama to the same “comeback” list. (April 2011) |
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January 2011 IHS Global Insight |
IHS Global Insight projected employment will grow in Mobile by 2.07 percent a year between 2010 and 2016, ranking Mobile No. 73 among 392 urban areas examined by the economic forecasting firm. Mobile is projected to have the second fastest job growth among Alabama and Gulf Coast metro areas. |
 April 21, 2010 EADS to Make Solo Bid for U.S. Tanker Contract Financial Times.com |
Financial Times was one of dozens of media outlets announcing EADS North America would enter the $35 billion U.S. Air Force competition as the prime contractor. EADS, if successful, will build its refueling tankers to replenish the U.S. Air Force's aging fleet in Mobile. |
 April 13, 2010 Best Places for Business and Careers Forbes.com |
Ranked among the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas, Mobile landed at No. 62 in Forbes’ annual Best Places for Business and Careers list. Both projected economic growth and projected job growth categories earned the No. 5 rank. In the cost of doing business category, Mobile ranked No. 35. |
 March, 2010 Alabama's Small Cities are Poised for Recovery The Economist |
ThyssenKrupp earned the lead paragraph in a story published in the March 13-17 issue of The Economist, a weekly international news and business publication with a circulation of more than 1 million. The feature on Alabama's economy also highlighted Mobile's No. 12 ranking by Moody's Economy.com for job growth. |
 March 18, 2010 Building Up America CNN |
In its Building Up America series, CNN featured Mobile, Ala., Horizon Shipbuilding's effort to win international customers, and the state's international trade efforts. |
 November, 2009 Alabama Cities Get Top Ranking in Economic Report Moody's Economy.com |
Mobile is ranked near the top nationally in showing strong progress toward recovering from the nationwide recession, according to a November 2009 report from Moody's Economy.com. In the category of expected employment growth, Mobile ranked fourth out of 387 metro areas across the United States. |
 November, 2009 America's 25 Next Recovering Job Markets BusinessWeek |
As economists are declaring an end to the recession, BusinessWeek teamed up
with Moody's Economy.com to identify top performing metro areas for first
quarter job growth in 2010. Mobile ranked No. 13 out of 25. |
 November 19, 2009 Mobile, Ala., Forecast at No. 13 for Job Growth Next Spring Al.Com |
Mobile's Press-Register covered the same Moody's Economy.com report and included
information of a second study that predicted the upswing in job growth would
begin in the second quarter of 2010. |
 October 28, 2009 Alabama Pension Fund Plows Millions Into Property in Its Own Backyard The New York Times |
An article in The New York Times highlighted investments made in downtown Mobile by David Bronner, chief executive of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. The article starts out with Mobile's ability to prove it was worthy of Bronner's plans -- and when the citizens voted yes for the education referendum in 2003, it was the proof he needed. Now six years later, Mobile has a renovated Battle House Hotel and RSA's Battle House Tower, one of the tallest office towers along the Gulf Coast, a new cruise port, and plans for the AmSouth landmark office building. |
 September 2009 Offshore Alabama Brings Collaboration of Alabama's Oil & Gas Industry Leaders Alabama Seaport |
Alabama Seaport magazine explored the recently formed Offshore Alabama initiative and the Oil & Gas Task Force, led by the Mobile Area Chamber. The entity, made up of 27 companies, formed in August 2008. Current chairman, Paul Dieffenthaller, head of ExxonMobil's operations, said, "This group has enabled us for the first time to collectively define the strengths that position Mobile to favorable compete with other communities along the Gulf Coast in this business sector." |
 June, 2009 10 Best Cities for Recession Recovery Forbes.com |
Last summer, Forbes.com listed Mobile as one of the 10 Best Cities for Recession Recovery for medium-sized cities. Forbes used projected gross domestic product data from Moody's Economy.com, an independent provider of economic analysis, unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Association of Home Builders' home prices, incomes and affordability statistics. |
 April/May 2009 North American Small Cities of the Future fDi |
fDi named Mobile among its Top 5 Best Cost Effectiveness for Small Cities. The magazine is published by London-based Financial Times. Magazine editors believe the year’s winners embody what it takes to compete in an intense competition for foreign direct investment projects. |
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Mobile came in at No. 10 on Forbes.com Top 10 Best Mid-Sized Cities for Jobs, citing job growth in the city’s natural resources, mining, construction and transportation sectors. |
 July 30, 2009 Let’s Have a Party The Economist |
The July 30 edition of The Economist features Mobile’s optimism about its economic future. The article cites the area’s recent successes as the foundation for its “sunny outlook despite the current economic woe,” specifically naming Austal’s growth, activity at ThyssenKrupp and the port’s container terminal. The author also mentions recent accolades by Moody's Economy.com and Forbes.com, as well as the city’s position to reconnect with Cuba. |
 May 7, 2009 Alabama on Cuba Los Angeles Times |
A May article, Alabama on Cuba: Tear down this embargo, in the LA Times featured Jimmy Lyons with the Alabama Port Authority and the impact reviving a trading policy with Cuba would have on Alabama. |
 May 3, 2009 Gulf Coast Ports Show Strength GlobeSt.com |
GlobeSt.com, a real estate online publication, featured the Port of Mobile and Alabama Port Authority, quoting Director Jimmy Lyons. Lyons told reporter Amy Wolff Sorter, while activity is down, he believes it is temporary and there are positive signs. “We’ve seen increases in the container side, and that’s spurred other activity.” |
 May 2009 Alabama Meetings & Conventions |
The May issue of Meetings and Conventions featured Mobile’s convention center renovations, the upgraded cruise ship coming this fall, the infamous Robert Trent Golf Trail and the Battle House Spa. |
 March 2009 Many Smaller Cities Dodge Crunch in Consumer Lending The Wall Street Journal/Business |
A story in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, March 31, listed Mobile, Ala., as one of 10 metropolitan areas where consumer loan balances grew the most in the fourth quarter. According to the article, Many Smaller Cities Dodge Crunch in Consumer Lending, consumer-lending activity is a key to riding out the recession compared to larger metro areas and rural areas. |
 March 19, 2009 Mobile, Baldwin Counties Among State's Fastest-Growing Press-Register |
A story in Mobile's Press-Register reported Baldwin and Mobile counties were among the 10 fastest-growing counties in Alabama in 2009. The data was released by the U.S. Census Bureau. |
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Mobile's reputation for aviation is climbing. The city was recognized in a special Southern Business & Development Bonus Edition 101 Great Locations in the South for Aviation & Aerospace. |
 November 2008 Roll, Steel, Roll Site Selection |
Aggressively targeting the robust market for high-end steel, SSAB is mounting a $460-million expansion in Alabama. In the process, the Swedish company's first big U.S. move since its $7.7-billion IPSCO acquisition further broadens 'Bama's burgeoning concentration of steel-making operations. |
 July 2008 How We Won The Big One Business Alabama |
Read a play-by-play recap of how Mobile won the largest nongovernment economic development project in U.S. history – ThyssenKrupp |
 July 2008 Foreign Investment - Love me, love me not. The Economist |
Mobile serves as an example of American cities wooing foreign investment. |
 June/July 2008 Bay City Boom Thicket |
Mobile's economy continues to expand, earning a number of significant economic development projects with team effort |
 2008 250 Best Places in the South to Locate Your Company - Mid Markets Southern Business & Development |
For its 15th anniversary Southern Business & Development created a series of
best places list. Mobile earned the lucky No. 7 spot on the mid markets list. |
 Spring 2008 Job 100 Southern Business & Development |
ThyssenKrupp ranked No. 2 on the
Top 100
projects for jobs and earned Alabama first place in the
Hot Market state summary, and Mobile named
Top Mid Market of the Year. |
 March/April 2008 CiCi Awards: Corporate Investment Alabama's Coastal Gateway to Opportunity Trade & Industry Development |
CiCi stands for corporate investment and community impact. ThyssenKrupp
leads the investment list with $3.7 billion. Plus the magazine features a look
at Coastal Alabama and its new nickname – Aviation Triangle. |
 March 2008 Top Industries of 2007 - Sticker Shock? Modular Logic - Mobile is just one outpost of a worldwide boom in shipbuilding and railcar manufacturing Site Selection |
ThyssenKrupp USA was named top project by capital investment and by the number of jobs created. This issue also features Austal's expansion. |
 March 2008 Water, water, Everywhere: Much to do in Mobile Heartland Boating |
A city on the water – Mobile is a historic tourism destination, and even boaters
are making note of the area's economic development mega project – ThyssenKrupp. |
 March 2008 Unseated! Northrop Grumman/EADS Tanker Win has Boeing Defense Business Scrambling Aviation Week |
A look at the initial news that Northrop Grumman won the U.S. Air Force refueling tanker project. Since then, Boeing officially protested the award and the project is expected to be re-awarded by year end. |
 March 11, 2008 In Mobile, aerospace is just part of a bolder vision of global commerce SeattlePI.com |
Mobile is courting (successfully) the aerospace industry - lately wooing Airbus' parent company, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., which has promised to build commercial airplanes and military tankers in the Gulf Coast city. |
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January 30, 2008 America's Fastest-Growing Metros Forbes.com |
Australian shipbuilder Austal
set up its U.S. operations in Mobile in 1999, and ever since, the
metro area has bloomed as a manufacturing center. |
 October 2007 Mobile Bay: On The Water; On The Move US Industry Today |
Many changes taking place in Mobile's economic landscape. |
 June 2007 Steel Heart of Dixie Business Facilities, The Location Advisors |
Alabama’s economic incentives lead to one of the largest developments in state history - a German steel manufacturer’s $3.7 billion plant. |
 February 2007 America’s Hottest Cities Expansion Management |
Expansion Management named Mobile on its annual list of “America’s Hottest Cities,” coming in at No. 27. |
 2006 Hot Cities For Entrepreneurs Entrepreneur.com |
Entrepreneur.com listed Mobile first on its annual list of “Hot Cities For
Entrepreneurs,” under the mid-sized cities category. |
 April 2007 Regional Roundup – Mobile Moves On Up Commercial Property News |
Commercial Property News mentions Mobile’s changing downtown, including $282 million of planned development. |
 March 27 2007 US Ports Ready For A Cargo Surge Financial Times |
In an article by the Financial Times anticipating container traffic to double over the next 15 years,
the author mentions the Port of Mobile’s new container terminal. |
 February 2007 Maritime On A Mission Business Xpansion Journal |
Business Xpansion Journal highlights how the Port of Mobile is responding to the evolving Alabama economy, and describes the nearly $400 million of upgrades at the Port of Mobile. |