U.S. Economic Activity Split in Half: Look at Detroit (Charlotte: employment, law)

[magellan]

This map divides U.S. GDP in half, the orange color and the blue color. In other word, the 18 or so metro areas (Detroit included) make up 1/2 the country's GDP. All the rest (the blue) make up the other half.

I don't think people realize what an economic powerhouse the Detroit metro area is.

United States Economic Activity, Split in Half | Visual.ly

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

That map should be posted everytime someone says "Michigan needs to diversify its economy! You can't just have one industry!"

You don't replace one of the largest industries in the world. You should be thankful it is here.

[Tekkie]

I don't disagree with the graph. However, I do question why Metro Detroit looks much different (economically) than the other metro areas represented.

[aoletsgo]

Hmmm interesting but I have a few comments:
Charlotte is there but not Atlanta???? Charlotte is just a fraction of Atlanta!
Portland bigger than Seattle??
St. Louis but no KC or Indy?
Where is Denver?

[newdixiegirl]

Originally Posted by Arthur Digby Sellers

That map should be posted everytime someone says "Michigan needs to diversify its economy! You can't just have one industry!"

You don't replace one of the largest industries in the world. You should be thankful it is here.

I don't think anyone has said the auto industry should be "replaced" in Detroit. But it should be fairly obvious that it CANNOT continue to be the city's only industry.

Of course it's a good thing that it's in Detroit. No one in their right mind would dispute that. I'm sure many in Ontario would say the same thing about the auto industry's strong presence there. But Ontario's auto industry thrives (albeit with some bumps in recent years related to the woes of the Big Three) alongside many other healthy industries. One need not preclude another.

This reality, coupled with Michigan's drastic economic decline in the past decade, only emphasizes that it is essential for Detroit to diversify its economy

...or history will repeat itself, again and again and again.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Originally Posted by newdixiegirl

I don't think anyone has said the auto industry should be "replaced" in Detroit. But it should be fairly obvious that it CANNOT continue to be the city's only industry.

Of course it's a good thing that it's in Detroit. No one in their right mind would dispute that. I'm sure many in Ontario would say the same thing about the auto industry's strong presence there. But Ontario's auto industry thrives (albeit with some bumps in recent years related to the woes of the Big Three) alongside many other healthy industries. One need not preclude another.

This reality, coupled with Michigan's drastic economic decline in the past decade, only emphasizes that it is essential for Detroit to diversify its economy

...or history will repeat itself, again and again and again.

Why? Do people in Silicon Valley fret that technology is their only industry?

Focus on your core strengths. There is no reason why any automaker - foreign or domestic - would not want to locate major operations here. We have more people who have the industry knowledge and skills than any other region. Start going after the VWs and Hondas much more aggressively. Now that RTW is the law (regardless of your opinion of it) labor competitiveness with southern states is off the table.

The auto industry is not the only game in Metro Detroit, but it will always tower over any other industry. We need to stop being ashamed of being the motor capitol of the world and get back to embracing it.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by aoletsgo

Hmmm interesting but I have a few comments:
Charlotte is there but not Atlanta???? Charlotte is just a fraction of Atlanta!
Portland bigger than Seattle??
St. Louis but no KC or Indy?
Where is Denver?

Charlotte is the HQ for Bank of America which is the 2nd largest bank in the country and supposedly 3rd largest company in the world as of 2010.

Portland is the HQ for Intel. Boeing is HQ'd just outside of St. Louis, and so on.

No matter how big the other cities are, the size of the companies that are headquartered there is what determines their GDP output.

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by newdixiegirl

I don't think anyone has said the auto industry should be "replaced" in Detroit. But it should be fairly obvious that it CANNOT continue to be the city's only industry.

Of course it's a good thing that it's in Detroit. No one in their right mind would dispute that. I'm sure many in Ontario would say the same thing about the auto industry's strong presence there. But Ontario's auto industry thrives (albeit with some bumps in recent years related to the woes of the Big Three) alongside many other healthy industries. One need not preclude another.

This reality, coupled with Michigan's drastic economic decline in the past decade, only emphasizes that it is essential for Detroit to diversify its economy

...or history will repeat itself, again and again and again.

I agree...however I think that the economy has been diversifying for a while now, but the gains of other types of jobs were more than offset by the losses in the manufacturing sector. If auto employment had been stable the last 30 years, people would have noticed the growth of other sectors of the economy.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Charlotte is the HQ for Bank of America which is the 2nd largest bank in the country and supposedly 3rd largest company in the world as of 2010.

Portland is the HQ for Intel. Boeing is HQ'd just outside of St. Louis, and so on.

No matter how big the other cities are, the size of the companies that are headquartered there is what determines their GDP output.

Actually, Boeing is HQ'd in Chicago.

Intel is HQ'd in Santa Clara, CA.

That said, I'm also surprised that Atlanta and Denver weren't shown. Atlanta is often called the New York of the south. It has several major businesses/industries based there. Denver is the ONLY economic powerhouse in the Mountain West with many tech, healthcare, and DoD companies based here. It's not listed but Portland is?

Again, I'm not disagreeing with the graph. I'm just a bit surprised by what it's showing. Is it the most accurate depiction of this data?

[animatedmartian]

Ah, I think I was looking at the divisions of the companies. Boeing Defense, Space & Security and HQ'd near St. Louis. But anyway, the respective companies still a large presence in those cities.

I found the source of that map and yea the creator fudged it a little to make the NE look more connected. That's disappointing... but he says he'll remake it in a week.