Southern Economic Development Officials
See Uncertain Business Investment Outlook

"Corporations are not pulling the final trigger because they want to know what will happen on the war issue," said Mike Mullis, a Memphis corporate location consultant.

A recent article in the Clarion Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi provides an outlook for economic development in Mississippi and other southern states. While those interviewed see an eventual comeback by business investment, that improvement is not expected to occur until larger economic and national security events change.

Jack Guynn, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, noted in a recent speech that many industries have idled plants or cut shifts and that before investing in new capacity, companies will first bring some of their underutilized capacity back online.

While a few major business investment projects, like the new Toyota truck plant deal, have moved forward, most planned investments remain on hold until the economic skies clear and the future course of the Iraqi War is better understood.

This news is consistent with my own assessment of the current and near term economic development environment.