Manufacturers’ News, Inc. — For a second straight year, industrial employment in Ohio posted a gain, reports the 2014 Ohio Manufacturers Directory^®, an industrial directory and database published by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. According to data collected by Manufacturers’ News, Ohio gained 5,761 manufacturing jobs from September 2012 to September 2013, or about a half percent, matching last year’s half-percent gain, and in line with the national average increase as reported by the Labor Department.

Manufacturers’ News reports Ohio is now home to 17,261 manufacturers employing 876,144 workers, compared to a high of 21,000 manufacturers and 1.3 million industrial workers the publisher recorded in 1994.

“Once a struggling Rust Belt state, Ohio has experienced something of a manufacturing renaissance,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “Continued Big Three reinvestment in Ohio’s auto sector combined with increased orders for steelmakers servicing the booming natural gas sector has resulted in at least a stabilization of the state’s industrial employment.”

According to MNI, Ohio’s two largest sectors by manufacturing employment both posted gains over the year, with jobs in first-ranked industrial machinery and equipment rising by 2.5%. Industrial machinery currently ranks as Ohio’s largest sector by industrial employment, employing 141,707 or 16% of its manufacturing sector. Second ranked fabricated metals employs 102,862 Ohio workers, up 2.9% over the year.

Several automakers and related suppliers announced expansions over the year. Honda plans a $125 million expansion of its engine plant in Anna; Ford announced an expansion of a plant in Cleveland; and auto supplier Miba Sinter will expand its facility in McConnelsville. Other bright spots included the opening of Niagara Bottling’s new PET Bottling plant in Gahanna; the establishment of electrode-maker GrafTech’s new facility in Sharon Center; and titanium products maker Cristal’s planned expansion of its Ashtabula factory.

Other sectors reporting industrial gains included instruments/related products, up 4.3%; textiles/apparel, up 1.9%; chemicals, up 1.8%; and food products, up 1.7%. Losses were reported in lumber/wood; down 3.3%; furniture/fixtures, down 2.9%; paper products, also down 2.9%; printing/publishing, down 2.8%; and stone/clay/glass, down 2.3%.

Industrial locations announcing closures included Goodrich Corp., which closed a landing gear facility in Cleveland; a Commercial Turf Products plant in Streetsboro; and Hostess plants in Northwood and Cincinnati.

Manufacturers’ News reports Northeast Ohio accounts for the largest share of the state’s industrial employment, with 324,355 jobs, up 1.2% over the year. Southwest Ohio accounts for 210,961 jobs, with no significant change reported, while Northwest Ohio is home to 128,931 industrial workers, up 2%. South Central Ohio accounts for 93,829 jobs, up 1%, and the North Central region is home to 84,217, virtually unchanged over the year. Jobs decreased 5.1% in Southeast Ohio, with the region home to 33,851 jobs.

MNI’s data shows manufacturing employment in Ohio’s largest cities declined slightly over the year. Cincinnati ranks as the state’s top city for manufacturing employment, home to 74,507 jobs, down 1.4% over the year. Second-ranked Cleveland accounts for 59,498 jobs, down 1.2%. Columbus is home to 45,104 industrial jobs, down 1.2%, while Dayton accounts for 26,365 jobs, down about one percent. Toledo accounts for 18,893 industrial jobs, with no significant change reported over the past twelve months.

Detailed profiles of Ohio’s 17,261 manufacturing companies and 2,108 distributors can be found in the 2014 Ohio Manufacturers Directory^® available in print for $211, or available online through MNI’s industrial database subscription service EZSelect.com. Users may generate custom profiles of manufacturers using a variety of criteria, including region, SIC, sales volume, number of employees, and more. Each business profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information, 64,352 executives by name and title, product(s) manufactured, and more.

Manufacturers’ News, Inc. is the nation’s oldest and largest publisher of state industrial directories and manufacturers databases, and the industrial search engine IndustryNet.com. For 101 years the company has identified, researched and profiled manufacturing companies. MNI employs an 85-person editorial staff to scour business registrations, trade journals, financial reports, and many other sources to pinpoint every manufacturing establishment in the U.S. Each manufacturer is contacted throughout the year to update their profiles, including their employee counts. For more information, contact Manufacturers’ News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201, 847-864-7000, http://www.manufacturersnews.com