{"id":18562,"date":"2016-01-08T13:51:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T18:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/01\/economic-outlook-2016---martin-vanags.html"},"modified":"2017-11-08T13:46:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T18:46:36","slug":"economic-outlook-2016-martin-vanags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/01\/economic-outlook-2016-martin-vanags\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Outlook 2016 – Martin Vanags"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"marty\n<\/div>\n
Martin Vanags, president, Saratoga Prosperity Partnership.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY MARTY VANAGS<\/p>\n

There is old joke about economists that says
\nyou could lay all the economists in the world
\ndown end-to-end and they would still never
\nreach a conclusion.<\/p>\n

So it goes with economic forecasts; there
\nis ample material and information, but predicting
\nhow the local economy will behave in
\nrelation to regional, national and international
\nactivities, all of which have a bearing on our
\nlocal economy, is daunting at best. Instead of
\nforecasting, let’s look at opportunities surrounding
\nthe key industry sectors in Saratoga
\nCounty: advanced manufacturing, agriculture,
\nfinancial business process outsourcing,
\nresearch and development, and specialized
\ndistribution.<\/p>\n

“Great expectations” is the operative term
\nwhen it comes to the enormous investment
\nin advanced manufacturing–specifically the
\nsemiconductor industry–in Saratoga County.
\nIn 2015, worldwide spending on equipment
\nin semiconductor fabrication facilities or
\n“fabs” fell flat to 0.5 percent or about $35.8
\nbillion. Fab equipment spending is predicted
\nto grow by 2.6 percent or $26.7 billion in 2016
\naccording to the industry association SEMI’s
\nquarterly update. Leading industry market
\ngroups predicted growth in the industry in the
\nupper single digits; they are now forecasting
\n1.3 percent growth.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for GlobalFoundries,
\nour hometown fab? We are confident that their
\n$15 billion footprint and over 3,000 employees
\nwill continue to have a positive impact on
\nour community. Success for our county will
\nhinge on our collective efforts to leverage this
\ninvestment.<\/p>\n


\nThe Saratoga Strategy, created by the
\nSaratoga County Prosperity Partnership,
\nprovides a road map for making sure this said
\ninvestment sustains itself through increased
\nattraction activities, opportunities for new
\nbusiness relationships, and education and
\ntraining. Relaxed requirements and standards
\nfor development in Luther Forest Technology
\nCampus and the availability of land and buildings
\nwill also increase our ability to generate
\ngrowth.<\/p>\n

Agriculture continues to be a strong part of
\nthe Saratoga County economy. Along with cash
\ncrops and dairy, agriculture takes into account
\nthe equine industry, farm-to-market growers,
\nand specialty food producers. Protecting our
\nrural areas and creating new agricultural opportunities
\ncan be accomplished in tandem
\nwith upticks in other sectors.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently
\nprojected fiscal 2015 agricultural exports at
\n$141.5 billion, down $2.0 billion from the November
\nforecast and down $11.0 billion from
\nfiscal 2014. Part of this reason is the strength
\nof the dollar.<\/p>\n

As the U.S. economy strengthens, the dollar
\nbecomes stronger against other currencies
\nand the cost of products, including farm
\nproducts, becomes more expensive to the rest
\nof the world. The good news is the real dollar
\nappreciation reflects a strong and stable U.S.
\neconomy. The recent interest rate increase
\nin the U.S. also makes our country attractive
\nfor investment. These trends are expected to
\ncontinue.<\/p>\n

If you have ever called you credit card
\ncompany or needed some customer service for
\nsome type of insurance or business financial
\ntransaction it is likely you have come in contact
\nwith financial business processing. Medical
\nproviders, insurance pension funds, computer
\nsoftware, financial clearinghouse activities
\nare all experiencing growth. State Farm has
\na major operation here in Saratoga County.
\nThis type of presence paves the way for other
\ninsurance and financial services companies.<\/p>\n

The era of in-house research and development
\nunits within major companies has
\npassed. Many companies now outsource this
\noperation. The requirements for locating these
\ntypes of companies vary in terms of physical
\nlocation; however, with the work of SUNY Poly
\nand the influx of GlobalFoundries engineers
\nand technicians, as well as their acquisition of
\npatents through the IBM transaction, there are
\nmany opportunities for us to bring companies
\nwith ties to these industries to our county.<\/p>\n

It has been said that America’s warehouse is
\nlocated in the thousands of semi trucks that
\nply our roadways everyday. They are filled with
\ngoods and products and equipment that we
\nall want and need. The expansion of the Ace
\nHardware warehouse from 800,000 square feet
\nto 1.2 million square feet and the proposed
\nDollar General distribution center that could
\nbe nearly 1 million square feet and add 420
\nemployees, coupled with the existing Target
\ndistribution center, confirms Saratoga County
\nas a prime location that can serve the consumer
\njust-in-time needs of our largest retailers.<\/p>\n

Can we continue to grow in specialized
\ndistribution? Does the county have the infrastructure
\nneeded to attract more? This in
\npart hinges on the new Federal budget deal
\nand transportation funding coming out of
\nWashington, D.C.<\/p>\n

While the Saratoga County economy looks
\ngood, we cannot rest. Only in the movies does
\nthe quote, “if you build it they will come” work.
\nIn the real world of economic development,
\none must constantly and consistently be vigilant
\nand proactive. We at the Partnership are
\nup to the task.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martin Vanags, president, Saratoga Prosperity Partnership. BY MARTY VANAGS There is old joke about economists that says you could lay all the economists in the world down end-to-end and they would still never reach a conclusion. So it goes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":25045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-outlook-2016"],"yoast_head":"\r\nEconomic Outlook 2016 - Martin Vanags - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/01\/economic-outlook-2016-martin-vanags\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economic Outlook 2016 - Martin Vanags - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Martin Vanags, president, Saratoga Prosperity Partnership. 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