Mitsubishi Comes Back to Jaxport

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, which moved its shipment of vehicles to Georgia's Port of Brunswick several years ago from Jacksonville, has switched back to moving the cars and trucks through Jaxport's Blount Island Marine Terminal. Mitsubishi plans to import about 15,000 vehicles annually through Jacksonville for distribution in the South. Mitsubishi officials stated the number could double within three years. In 2004 Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor America moved the shipment of their vehicles from Jacksonville to the Port of Brunswick. The two Korean automakers imported about 130,000 vehicles through Brunswick last year.

Arby's Moving HQ to Atlanta

Fort Lauderdale-based Arby's LLC will not renew its lease on 55,000 square feet of space at the Radice Corporate Center in Fort Lauderdale. Instead, company officials will relocate headquarter operations to Atlanta this summer. Arby's employs about 100 workers at its headquarters in South Florida. The Arby's move is the fourth major company to move its headquarters to Atlanta in the last two years. Rayovac, Newell Rubbermaid and Alcan/Novelis moved their headquarters to Atlanta in 2003 and 2004.

1,000 New Jobs for Charlotte

Hewitt Associates, an Illinois-based employee benefits company has signed a letter of intent to lease the 290,000-square-foot former IBM building located in the University area of metro Charlotte. The deal is expected to create about 1,000 jobs within a year.

Huge Month for Texas

The Texas Workforce Commission announced that 21,900 new jobs were created in the state in the month of January. The figure is the largest monthly new jobs total in Texas since 2000.

Toyota Plant Causing Ripple Effect in San Antonio

In fiscal year 2003 about $800 million in new permitted commercial construction was launched in San Antonio. That figure grew to $1.4 billion in 2004 and the new Toyota plant being built in San Antonio is the primary reason for the jump in value. Another large increase in commercial construction is expected in 2005 as suppliers for the plant break ground on their facilities and other commercial construction projects in the retail sector begin to take shape near the new Toyota plant.