Economy of Metropolitan Detroit - Manufacturing and Industry

Manufacturing and Industry

As the world's traditional automotive center, Metro Detroit is headquarters to America's "Big Three" automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler. Virtually every major global automaker has a presence in the area including technology and design centers. Oakland County's "Automation Alley" has over 1,800 of world's advanced technology companies with Metro Detroit ranking fifth in the U.S. in technology sector employment. There are about 4,000 factories in the area. The automotive headquarters for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is in the suburb of Troy. OnStar and GMAC are a source for growth. In spite of foreign competition for market share, Detroit's automakers have continued to gain volume from previous decades with the expansion of the American and global automotive markets. Manufacturing in the state grew 6.6% from 2001 to 2006, In 2008, an economic and financial crisis impacted global auto industry sales. For 2010, the domestic automakers reported significant profits indicating the beginning of rebound. The sales revenue from just one of Detroit's automakers exceeds the combined total for the all of the top companies in many major U.S. cities. A Center for Automotive Research (CAR) study estimated that tax revenue generated by the automotive industry in the United States for a single year, 2010, amounted to $91.5 billion in state and local tax revenue and additional $43 billion in federal tax revenue.

The area includes a variety of manufacturers and is an important component of U.S. national security. United States Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM) is headquartered in Metro Detroit together with Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The region has important defense contractors such as General Dynamics. The area is home to Rofin-Sinar, a leading maker of lasers which are used for industrial processes. Advanced robotics is another important segment in the metro area. On June 27, 2009, General Electric announced plans to build a new $100 M center for advanced manufacturing technology and software, in Van Buren Township in Wayne County, expected to employ 1,200 people providing a pay range of $100,000 per year. Dow Chemical is a significant company in the metro region. The metro region's large energy producers include DTE and CMS.

With its major port status, the city's infrastructure accommodates heavy industry. Marathon Oil Company maintains a large refinery in Detroit, expanded to refine oil sands from Canada. Lafarge's cement distribution facility constructed at the city's Springwells Industrial Park in 2005 includes North America's largest cement silo.

Detroit's automakers are building vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt flex fuel hybrid and Buick LaCrosse e-assist hybrid. In 2006, Ford announced a dramatic increase in production of its hybrid gas-electric models, Ford and GM have also promoted E-85 ethanol capable flexible-fuel vehicles as a viable alternative to gasoline. General Motors has invested heavily in all fuel cell equipped vehicles, while Chrysler is focusing much of its research and development into biodiesel. Two days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, GM announced it had developed the world's most powerful fuel cell stack capable of powering large commercial vehicles. In 2002, the state of Michigan established NextEnergy, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to enable commercialization of various energy technologies, especially hydrogen fuel cells. Its main complex is located north of Wayne State University. In August 2009, Michigan and Detroit's auto industry received $1.36 B in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries which are expected to generate 6,800 immediate jobs and employ 40,000 in the state by 2020.

On quality, Cadillac outscored all other luxury automakers in two of three quality surveys by AutoPacific, Strategic Vision, and J.D. Power in 2003. Ford led all other automakers in the 2007 J.D. Initial Quality survey.