Ohio Reaches New Highs in Venture Capital Funding

Key Economic Insights

• Global: The World Bank projects global GDP growth to slow to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.
• U.S.: Consumer prices rose 7% in 2021, the fastest increase since 1982.
• Ohio: Three Ohio-headquartered companies rank among the top 100 nationally for ESG efforts.

Global Insights

The World Bank forecasts global GDP growth to slow to 4.1% in 2022, down from 5.5% in 2021, citing the effects of the Omicron variant, supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages and the winding down of government economic support. The World Bank projects growth to slow to 3.2% in 2023.  Goldman Sachs forecasts the 19-member euro region to grow at a pace of 4.4% in 2022, compared to a rate of 3.5% for the U.S. Looking forward to 2023, Goldman Sachs forecasts the Euro Zone growing by 2.5% and the U.S. by 2.2%.  60% of the global population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

U.S. Insights

Weekly jobless claims for the week ended January 8 rose to 230,000, up from 207,000 during the prior week. Continuing claims fell to 1.559M from a revised 1.753M during prior week.  The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index preliminary reading declined to 68.8 in January, down 2.5% from the final reading of 70.6 in December.  The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 98.4 in December, up slightly from 98.4 in November.  Nearly 75% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly 62.5% is fully vaccinated.

The Consumer Price Index rose at a 7.0% annual rate in December, the largest annual increase since 1982. Core CPI rose 5.5% in December from 2020, the fastest rate since 1991.  The Producer Price Index increased 0.2% in December. On an annual basis, prices moved up 9.7% in 2021, the largest annual increase since 2010. Minus foods, energy, and trade services, prices rose 0.4% in December to a 6.9% annual rate.

U.S. retail sales declined 1.9% in December. Excluding gasoline and motor vehicles, sales declined 2.5% in December.  U.S. import pricesdeclined 0.2% in December. On an annual basis, import prices rose 10.4% in 2021, the largest annual increase since 2007. Export prices declined 1.8% in December, the largest drop in prices since April 2020. On an annual basis, export prices rose 14.7% in 2021, the largest annual increase since 1984. U.S. industrial production fell 0.1% in December, marking the first monthly decline since September 2021. Capacity utilization declined to 76.5% in December, down slightly from a downwardly revised 76.6% in November.

Ohio Employment & Economic Insights

In 2021, Ohio companies secured a record $2.37B in venture capital funding across 180+ deals, representing a 103% increase from 2020 venture capital funding. Ohio manufacturing’s economic output surpassed its previous highwater mark. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Ohio’s seasonally adjusted annual manufacturing GDP yielded more than $118.3B in Q3 2021 – up from $116.9B in Q2 of last year and $112.4B in Q4 2019, before the start of the pandemic.

Ohio-based Owens Corning (#23), American Electric Power (#31), and Procter & Gamble (#59) ranked among the top 100 companies in JUST Capital’s annual analysis of corporate performance on ESG efforts. Combined, these companies employ over 18,000 Ohioans. Other companies with large employment presence (10,000+ employees) in the state that ranked among the top 100 include JPMorgan Chase (#28), and Lowe’s (#70).

Reshoring, workforce, and entrepreneurship were highlighted as focused opportunity areas for the state of Ohio at The Dayton Business Journal’s 2022 Economic Forum. The state has stood up several programs, including Ohio IP Promise, to improve the entrepreneurial movement in Ohio by making it easier for people to commercialize intellectual property from college campuses.

6 Ohio cities ranked in the top 50 U.S cities with the most green space per capita. Ohio cities that made the top 50 include Cincinnati (3), Columbus (11), Dayton (32), Cleveland (33), Akron (35), and Toledo (47).

The state of Ohio awarded a $3M grant to the Ohio State University to help develop curriculum focused on broadband education/training that will prepare students for careers in the broadband and 5G industry. In the last year, Ohio has received and pledged nearly $1.5B in state and federal dollars to expand internet access. Over 7.1M Ohioans have started the COVID-19 vaccination process and over 6.5M have completed it.

Ohio Company News

• Forge Biologics closed $80M in additional financing to accelerate their planned CDMO Expansion. The company plans to add 400 employees over the next 3 years.
• Premier Packaging plans to construct a new $60M manufacturing and distribution facility in Lebanon. Once completed, it will result in the creation of 80 new jobs and the retention of 49 existing jobs.
• Plastilene plans to open a Sustainable Food Packaging Innovation Center in Washington Court House. The $47M R&D center will create 58 new jobs.
• Nurx is expected to bring 43 new jobs upon launching of a new operation in Dublin. The facility will be a non-retail pharmacy that will fill electronically prescribed prescriptions generated for patients through Nurx’s digital platform.
• Infoscitex completed the renovation and expansion of its Dayton-area HQ, adding an additional 5,000 SF to accommodate an additional 30 employees.
• CoStrategix is relocating their HQ to a 10,000 SF office in Blue Ash. The company expects to relocate to this larger space in April and expand its workforce by 30% to 40% this year.
• Balboa Real Estate Partners and The Opus Group are building a 213,000 SF warehouse distribution center in Union, near the Dayton airport.
• Rumby plans to more than double its existing workforce in Cincinnati in 2022 with the addition of roughly 12 new jobs. If filled, the jobs would add more than $1.125M in annual payroll.
• Cemleb Properties will develop a 12,000 SF spec building in Shelby County. The building, which will be expandable, will become the first development at Commerce Drive Industrial Park.
• Eaton acquired Royal Power Solutions, a maker of electrical connectivity components used in electric vehicle, energy management, industrial and mobility markets, for $600M.
• Civista Bancshares is expanding in northwest Ohio with a deal to buy the parent company of The Henry County Bank for roughly $50.2M. The company will add seven branches and expand its commercial banking business in Toledo.
• BioOhio announces partnership to address bioscience, health, and life science industry workforce needs.

Resources

• Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Website: www.coronavirus.ohio.gov
• JobsOhio’s information about Open, Secure Supply Chains in Ohio