NC Economic Development Pipeline Shifts Away From Automotive
By Lauren Ohnesorge – Senior Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal
A year ago, one in every six or seven economic development projects to hit the desk of Chris Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, was automotive in some capacity — whether it was an electric vehicle maker or a manufacturer of EV batteries.
Today, that ratio has shrunk to one in 20.
“Activity is still solid,” Chung said of the state’s economic development pipeline, which stood at 221 active projects at the beginning of February. But the sector mix is different in 2025 as EDPNC works to lure job-creating companies to the state.
Were North Carolina to win all of those projects considering the state, it would mean 66,000 jobs and $49 billion in investment, according to EDPNC.
In Wake County, Economic Development Director Michael Haley says his team is seeing a “healthy mix of projects.”
In Wake County, Haley said the pipeline remains strong at 41 active projects. Were the Raleigh region to win all of them, that would mean 11,000 jobs and $6.7 billion in capital investment.
There are factors at play that could impact economic development in 2025 — specifically tariffs. The hope among eco-devo leaders is that tariffs on imports will lead to more companies interested in manufacturing stateside.
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