Industrial project activity has increased by almost a third in North America for the first quarter of 2007 when compared to 2006, according to Industrial Info’s North American Project Spending Index.

As of this writing, Industrial Info was tracking $308 billion in North American industrial project spending across all 12 industries. For the March 2007 update, project spending is up 32.33% when compared to March 2006. The industries with the largest percentage of growth when compared to last year at this time are Alternative Fuels (1,145%), Oil & Gas Transmission (212%), and Petroleum Refining (120%). Industries showing a drop in percentage growth include Oil & Gas Production (-31%) and Chemical Processing (-22%).