Changing Auto Industry Links The Fates Of Two Towns

While Rustbelt cities cope with job losses at ailing U.S. auto makers, the south is benefiting from Asian auto makers' success.

1 minute read

December 6, 2006, 12:00 PM PST

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera

"Twenty years ago, Livonia, Michigan was a prosperous Detroit suburb..." while Georgetown, Kentucky was hardly on the map. Today, the auto factory jobs that provided Livonia its economic lifeblood are disappearing, while its Southern counterpart is booming, thanks to new auto factory jobs from Toyota.

"Their changing fortunes offer more than a tale of two auto cities. They provide a close-up look at the impact of a broader economic shift of the nation's auto industry from north to south, as Detroit falters and their surging Asian competitors invest in Southern states."

"Over the last two decades, for example, the number of automotive-related manufacturing jobs in Michigan has fallen 34 percent, according to Economy.com. By contrast, the number of automotive jobs in Kentucky rose 152 percent over that period."

FULL STORY: As Auto Prosperity Shifts South, Two Towns Offer a Study in Contrasts

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 in The New York Times

Community / Economic Development United States

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