Two weeks ago, Clark College President Robert Knight gave the school’s annual State of the College address. It was the first “State of” address of the season, during which we’ll hear from Clark County, the city of Vancouver, one or two other cities in the region and the Port of Vancouver.
These reports are important for a variety of reasons. One, it’s important to provide a perspective beyond the rush of day-to-day operations. And two, once these reports are in we should have a fairly good idea of how the region’s governments are doing, as well as their respective and collective visions.
What’s missing from the calendar is a comprehensive state of the business address. Yes, the annual Forecast Breakfast recently held at the Hilton does a good job of looking at a few of the sectors, but there simply isn’t one program or address that looks at the entirety of business in Southwest Washington.
With that in mind, here’s a look at a couple of the sectors that have yet to be addressed, a quick summary of what we’re hearing about 2010 and a gaze into our crystal ball to see what the future may hold.
Construction companies that built public works projects like roads, bridges and schools, stayed busy. Much of this activity was due to federal funds. Those in the commercial construction sector owe much of their activity during 2010 to projects that had been in the works for some time – before financing became so difficult to obtain.
Most contractors for private commercial projects as well as public works now report having to do business in a much wider geographic region than was their practice a couple of years ago. The challenge for 2011 is funding. Federal programs are drying up and traditional financing is still difficult and time consuming to obtain. The unfortunate consequence is that pending jobs are far fewer heading into this year’s construction season.
As mentioned in last week’s Just Business, we’re hearing from many businesses that 2010 was a banner year. Many of these companies are manufacturers who, having cut costs as the recession took hold, found themselves with flat to modest increases in sales, but with greatly improved profit levels. Others are saying they had the best sales results in their company history – big news from a segment of the local business community that’s largely “under the radar” for most residents.
The Governor’s initiative to grow exports by 20 percent this year should bode well for our local manufacturers and innovators. While Southwest Washington has many companies already exporting products, many others will be introduced to the possibility.
From the professional services sector, we’re hearing that demand for services is picking up and most are reporting busy days. Engineering and planning staffs are still lean, so providing the service expected by clients with fewer individuals remains a challenge. Though the current workload is daunting, some have told us they are reluctant to hire staff because the number of jobs is not yet at a point that warrants it.
2011 is expected to be a better year than 2010 by virtually all the businesses we’ve heard from. Even in sectors where the norm was having projects in the cue but the cues are currently empty, they anticipate a stronger year. Certainly one thing that would make everyone’s 2011 a bit stronger would be to source local providers for our necessary products and services, keeping those dollars in Southwest Washington. What better way to sustain our own recovery?
