The Divine Gulf Coast
Region helps create the Mississippi Miracle

The transportation opportunities the Mississippi Gulf
Coast provides are a real asset for industry.

By Laura Corbin

The Mississippi Gulf Coast might be called the gold coast, the inspiration for the Mississippi Miracle of economic prosperity.

The three-county region (Harrison, Hancock and Jackson) has been credited with being the engine that has driven the state to an economic renaissance over the past decade.

Historically led by the seafood, timber and tourism industries, the Gulf Coast economy today includes everything from chemicals to computers, from apparel to aerospace. Since 1992, more than $3.5 billion in new commercial and industrial development has been made in the Mississippi Coast, and nearly 38,500 jobs have been created. The Gulf Coast is home to more than 12,000 businesses, the second-highest concentration of businesses in the state, and is home to three of Mississippi's top five employers.

Turning the Gulf Coast into the gold coast has been the result of the area's strategic location between New Orleans and Mobile; its well-developed air, land, sea and rail arteries; low business operations costs; and a resort climate that provides an unbeatable quality of life.

Cities along the Gulf Coast have been ranked in Money magazine's Best Places to Live; Forbes' Best Places to Start a Business; Modern Maturity's Best Active Places to Retire; and Builder Magazine's hottest housing markets in the United States. The region boasts an overall cost of living below the national average and is regarded as one of the most affordable urban housing markets in the South.

The Gulf Coast's attributes are what led such companies as DuPont, GE Plastics, MGM Grand and Grand Casinos to locate facilities in the region. In April 2001, Cingular announced the location of a 700-person inbound customer care center for the region.

Companies such as Wellman Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin and polyester fiber, have found the Gulf Coast appealing for a variety of reasons. When we looked at all the factors that impact the long-term cost of doing business in a region, that's where the Mississippi Gulf Coast came out on top, said a Wellman official.

The transportation opportunities available on the Mississippi Coast are a big asset, said a GE Plastics spokesperson. Most of our raw materials come in by barge and go out on to rail cars. That kind of accessibility, plus our proximity to a major supplier in Louisiana, has literally saved us millions of dollars in transportation costs.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast has that age-old attribute real estate agents extol location, location, location. The region along the Gulf of Mexico is within a 24-hour drive of three-quarters of the U.S. population and provides easy access to the rest of North America and key markets in Mexico and Central and South America. A well-developed multi-modal transportation system guarantees quick distribution of finished products and delivery of in coming raw materials, whether by land, air, sea or rail.

Nine industrial parks encompassing more than 5,000 acres are located in the region. These multi-modal parks offer not only prime industrial sites on navigable waterways, but also easy accessibility by rail, interstate and air, as well as shipping from the Coast's deep-water ports at Gulfport and Pascagoula. The presence of the Mississippi Coast Foreign Trade Zone, along with numerous designated sub zones, provides further transportation time and cost savings to manufacturers and distributors.

The Gulf Coast's location also helps provide a great quality of life. Known as the Playground of the South for its resort climate, the region has 26 miles of sugar-white beach, along with golf, casino gaming, and that all-important Southern hospitality.

For more information on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, go to www.mscoast.org or contact Mike Olivier (email: molivier@mscoast.org) at 228-863-3807.