Each October, the state’s Cabinet for Economic Development celebrates an industry that is perhaps best described in just three words: Made in Kentucky.
According to the Cabinet, we have 4,500 factories that employ 260,000 people, or about 13 percent of our total workforce, and our customers can be found in the 49 other states and in nearly 200 countries.
Our best-known manufacturing sector is the automotive industry, which got its start here well over a century ago. Back in 1913, Henry Ford’s workers in Louisville were able to put together a dozen Model Ts in a day.
Louisville now has two auto assembly plants, while Georgetown is home to Toyota’s largest plant outside of Japan and Bowling Green is the sole location for the iconic Corvette. Kentucky ranks first among the states in auto production when measuring it per capita.
As big as that industry is here, it’s a distant second when it comes to our exports. Here, aerospace dominates. In fact, this sector alone shipped nearly $15 billion worth of products overseas last year, which was almost half of all Kentucky exports.
There are many reasons why Kentucky is a top manufacturer, but our ability to get products to their right location quickly is a major one. In the air, major hubs operated by UPS, DHL and Amazon are on track to handle 300 cargo flights a day. We have 20 interstates and parkways, almost 2,000 miles of commercially available waterways and 2,300 miles of railroad track.
Although this year is unlike any other we’ve seen in modern times because of the pandemic, the good news is that our economy rests on a strong foundation that isn’t going anywhere. That silver lining is certainly worth remembering this month as we wait for better days ahead.
