Latest News & Blogs

For more than a century, Michigan has been known as the center of the automotive industry, with much of the focus and attention on Detroit (aka the Motor City). Over the last 50 years, however, West Michigan’s automotive supply chain has grown significantly and become a critical and robust sector not only for the region, but for the automotive industry as a whole.

We’re fresh off of some major spending days in the year, like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday, but the gift giving season is still ahead of us. While we’re in the midst of holiday shopping madness, our team thought it would be interesting to analyze the purchasing habits of West Michiganders.

Information Technology (IT) and cybersecurity are hot topics these days. The industries are in high demand, and are predicted to continue seeing growth in the coming years. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the role these industries play in the West Michigan economy.

Did you know West Michigan is home to a flourishing aerospace and defense industry? Our 13-county region houses more than 9,800 jobs in the sector, and industry cluster sales amount to approximately $1.1 billion annually.

For many West Michigan businesses, 2018 began with the same fast pace and volatility felt throughout 2017. The good news? Business is up. West Michigan companies are investing in growth initiatives and creating jobs. The bad news? Familiar challenges persist. The rapid advancement of technology and automation continue their disruption, the future of NAFTA remains uncertain, and years of record-low
unemployment levels make talented employees harder to find.