1. Foothills Region Overview
The Foothills Region is comprised of three North Carolina counties. Interstate I-40 passes through the northern part of the region connecting to I-77 to the east and I-26 to the west.
Cleveland
McDowell
Polk
Rutherford
section 01

2. Bubble Chart: What to Look at First
Quadrant Location
Size of Location Quotient
Percentage Change in Last 5 Years
Number of Employees
Bubble Chart: What to Look at First
Start with clusters located in the STARS quadrant
See if the MATURING clusters might have a good chance of growing again
Determine if EMERGING clusters are likely to grow in strength
Avoid clusters that are “TRANSFORMING”
Focus on clusters with an LQ of 1.2 or higher
Clusters with high LQs represent economic activities in which the region is competitive relative to the U.S.
REMEMBER: Clusters only capture industries that have the likelihood of exporting goods and services.
The horizontal line (the x-axis) shows the percentage growth or decline of a cluster over a five-year period.
Make sure to examine the SIZE and DIRECTION of that change.
Dramatic declines in a cluster with a an LQ of 1.2 or higher could be a difficult one to resurrect.
The size of the bubble refers to the number of people employed in that cluster.
It may be worthwhile to focus on clusters that are both competitive and that employ a good number of people.

3. Additional ways to hone in on key clusters for the SET team to consider for their HQP
Shift-Share Analysis
Export Value
Leakage
Contribution by Counties
Number of Establishments
Resident’s Values & Industry Input

4. Industry Clusters: Components to Assess in the Selection of Key Clusters (NC Foothills)
Advanced Materials
Chemicals
Apparel & Textiles
Forest & Wood Prod
Regional Performance,
(Shift-share analysis)
1,010
(84% of job change)
325
(72% of job change)
335
(94% of job change)
460
(109% of job change)
Exports value, 2013
($ millions)
1,418
1,213
733
414
Leakage, 2013
1,025
604
130
255
Number of establishments 78 42 72
115
Contribution by counties 4
Business input
Seek input from businesses on how they can strengthen their connections to the key clusters, especially providing products and services now being imported from outside the region.
Resident’s value
Review Civic Forum Input from Residents
section 02
Source: EMSI (QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, Self-Employed, and Extended Proprietors); Industry cluster definitions by PCRD

5. Industry Clusters: Components to Assess in the Selection of Key Clusters (NC Foothills)
Fabricated Metal Prod
Machinery
Electrical Equipment
Glass & Ceramics
Primary Metal
Regional Performance,
(Shift-share analysis) 55
(25% of job change)
254
(78% of job change)
172
(91% of job change)
-28
(negative value)
140
(85% of job change)
Exports value, 2013
($ millions)
271
276
148
118
149
Leakage, 2013
182
168 46 33
174
Number of establishments 45 26 4 9 8
Contribution by counties 2 3
Business input
Seek input from businesses on how they can strengthen their connections to the key clusters, especially providing products and services now being imported from outside the region.
Resident’s value
Review Civic Forum Input from Residents
section 02
Source: EMSI (QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, Self-Employed, and Extended Proprietors); Industry cluster definitions by PCRD

6. Advanced Materials: Contribution by Counties (Jobs 2014)
section 02
Source: EMSI (QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, Self-Employed, and Extended Proprietors); Industry cluster definitions by PCRD

7. Chemicals: Contribution by Counties (Jobs 2014)
section 02
Source: EMSI (QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, Self-Employed, and Extended Proprietors); Industry cluster definitions by PCRD