Over the past year, the Detroit Region has seen exciting growth in industries like auto & mobility, manufacturing, logistics, and digital technology, amongst others. The DRP team has compiled a snapshot report of the most prominent industry developments, all of which are helping shape the Detroit Region’s economic landscape. Explore more below!
Mobility & Automotive
The Detroit Region is the Global Epicenter of Mobility, with more than 1,000 mobility and automotive related assets located here. The region remains the top location for automotive production in the United States, with 1.9 million vehicles produced annually.
Thanks to its deeply rooted mobility ecosystem, Michigan continues to attract cutting-edge mobility investments. The state maintains its position as the #1 state for EV and battery investments, with more than $20 billion announced investments from 2018-2022. These investments support an already booming EV industry in Michigan—there’s been a 688% increase in the past five years of EV registrations in the state.
Smart Manufacturing
The Detroit Region’s Smart Manufacturing industry has seen a seismic shift in clean energy and hydrogen production in the past year. Michigan has seen 30 new clean energy projects since 2022, which is more than any other state in the nation.
Investments in clean energy come to the Detroit Region in part because it is the leading location for production and assemblers is Detroit, with more than 61,000 workers. On top of that, the region has one of the lowest turnover rates.
Corporate & Professional Services
One of the most cost-effective regions for companies to expand to is the Detroit Region. Compared to its peer regions, Detroit has the most affordable office rent and lowest housing costs, along with the second lowest corporate tax rates.
17 Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in the Detroit Region– 9 of which are Fortune 500 with a combined revenue of more than $465 billion.
Logistics
With its official opening next year, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will create one of North America’s largest ports of entry. The bridge is a milestone for the Detroit Region, as it strengthens trade connections between Michigan and Canada—currently, 50% of Canadian truck trade flows through Detroit.
In addition to the historic $5.7 billion bridge project, the Detroit Region’s logistics industry also has a fast-growing talent pool—the region’s warehousing talent pool grew 208% from 2017-2022.
Research, Engineering, & Design
The Detroit Region’s research, engineering and design industry is closely entwined with the automotive ecosystem located here—the region ranks #2 in the United States for engineering talent as well as commercial and industrial talent. Michigan also leads the nation for automotive research and design investment at $13.2 billion.
Digital Technology
Over the past few years, the Detroit Region has quickly become a top location for startups– Startup Genome ranked Detroit as the #1 global emerging startup ecosystem in 2022, an increase of 13 spots in one year. This ranking is supported by the 93,000 tech related workers in the region, which include more than 32,000 software engineers.
Financial Services
The Detroit Region has a growing venture capital ecosystem along with its strong base of global financial institutions. There are currently 17 Fortune 100 companies located in the region, with a revenue of more than $456 billion. The Detroit Region is also one of the top locations for banking talent, ranking in the top five of U.S. metros with more than 30,000 workers in 2022.
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Sources: Automotive News, CBRE, Climate Power, CoStar, Forbes, Fortune Media, Lightcast, MICHauto, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Startup Genome, Tax Foundation.
