The following are summaries of industrial construction in various parts of the country as of mid-March through mid-April, compiled by Industrial Info Resources (www.industrialinfo.com).

During the second quarter of this year, which is the beginning of the construction season in the region, the Great Lakes has over $11 billion worth of capital and maintenance projects that are scheduled to begin construction. If these numbers remain true through the second quarter, the Great Lakes region will have more than doubled 2005's second quarter numbers of $4.6 billion in construction starts. The second quarter of 2006 could well be one of the largest spending quarters for the region in recent history.

Kentucky is leading the way during the second quarter with just over $3 billion worth of projects expected to begin construction. Following Kentucky are: Illinois ($2.6 billion), Ohio ($2 billion) and Michigan ($1.8 billion). Bringing up the rear is Indiana at $980 million and Wisconsin at just over $500 million.

The Power industry, a traditional major player, is once again spending the most at $4 billion. Power is quickly followed by the Chemical Processing industry at $2.4 billion, the Industrial Manufacturing industry at $2.1 billion, and the Metals & Minerals industry at $1 billion with the Pharmaceuticals/Biotech industry rounding out the top five spenders at $621 million.

Tennessee manufacturing and electrical generating companies plan to begin construction on more than $3.38 billion in capital and maintenance projects in 2006. Of the 116 active projects slated for kick off this year, 87 are considered capital projects with an estimated value of $3.26 billion, while 29 are earmarked for maintenance-related projects, totaling $118 million. Individual projects range in value from $1 million and go up to $500 million.

The New England region currently has 97 new plants in various stages of development. Of that total, 39 projects, representing 40%, are scheduled for construction in Massachusetts. The remainder of the facilities will be located throughout the rest of the New England states, including Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

The Power Industry accounts for the majority of the region's plant construction with 30 projects currently under development. Ironically, the largest of all the power projects is not a traditional plant, and technically, will not be located within any state. Scheduled for construction five miles off the coast of Massachusetts, work on the $700 million, 468-megawatt offshore Nantucket wind farm is scheduled to begin in mid-2008.

New England has long been a favorite of the Pharmaceutical-Biotech industry and will host 17 new facility projects. The largest of these new plants is the whopping $660 million project Bristol-Myers Squibb wants to build. Devens, MA, is just one of several locations across the country the company is considering.