February 7, 1973
Businessmen remain confident about the near-term outlook. The word "boom" is being used more often in describing current conditions. Residential construction may be weakening, but much commercial and industrial construction is planned. Labor shortages are reported in central Florida. A shortage of natural gas has caused some temporary plant closings.
Residential construction may be leveling off. In recent months, there has been a reduction in announcements of new projects. In Mobile, a decline in residential construction is reported, especially in the multifamily area. Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, hardly any housing starts have been reported in the $18,000 or below category because of high foreclosures on inexpensive homes. Apartment and condominium starts are predicted to decline in the Nashville area. One of the few new residential projects announced recently concerned possible development of expensive homes and condominiums on an island off Georgia.
Commercial construction remains very strong. Plans for a $35 million office building have been announced for a site opposite the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Sears will build a $30 million catalogue center in Jacksonville. This huge facility will employ 1,000 initially and 2,000 eventually. A $28 million Federal building and an $18 million hotel have been announced for Nashville. Hospital expansions totaling $14 million are planned for cities in east Tennessee. An $8.5 million office building is planned for Orlando. A sharp increase in retail sales is reported to be the reason for announcements of new shopping centers in the Mobile area. The drugstore division of a nationally known retailer will open at least ten outlets in the Atlanta vicinity. Other announcements include: a $4 million motel near Atlanta; a 4-story office building in an Atlanta industrial park; and a shopping center in a north Georgia city.
Industrial development also continues at a rapid pace. An $18 million glass manufacturing plant is to be built in east Tennessee. This plant should eventually employ 500. An Alabama utility will construct an $18 million general services complex. There has been a rash of relatively small new plant and plant expansion announcements for middle Tennessee. Businesses are reported moving into central Florida at a rapid rate. An electronics firm plans to build a $4.75 million plant near Tuskegee, Alabama. A major expansion is planned by Armstrong Cork at its Pensacola plant. Other announcements include: an electrical parts plant in north Georgia; a plant to manufacture containers in Atlanta; a plywood plant near Jacksonville; and a motor home plant in Alabama.
Florida's tourist industry is prosperous. Attendance is up 15 to 18 percent over a year ago at Walt Disney World and other central Florida attractions. However, a glut of motel rooms is reported in the Disney World-Orlando area where thousands of motel rooms are currently under construction.
The only uncertainty in the employment picture is the effects of possible cutbacks at military installations. The Atlanta army depot will be laying off 1,300 civilian personnel, but an increase in employment at Atlanta's Fort McPherson is expected to partly offset this. Extremely wet weather in much of the District has hindered construction and other outdoor work and produced some temporary unemployment. Unemployment in the New Orleans area has been reduced by increased industrial and tourist activity and a pickup in offshore drilling activity. Unemployment rates in areas of central Florida are below 2 percent, and shortages of construction and agricultural labor are reported.
A Florida director reports that: "The citrus industry is slow in getting its harvesting operations going. Labor is the big problem. With what appears to be the largest crop in history, fruit pickers are short. The transit seasonal labor force does not appear to be as large as in previous years. The big problem: the crop has been late in maturing and as a result a large percentage is now maturing at a rapid rate, much faster and in such quantity that the present labor force cannot harvest before the crop starts falling from the tree."
A shortage of natural gas has caused some temporary plant closings in Louisiana and Alabama. Plants whose contracts with pipeline companies are about to expire cannot get assurances that they can renew. Supplies of jet and diesel fuel are also reportedly critically short in Louisiana.