STRICTLY BUSINESS: STOREY'S PLANS NEW SUPERMARKET FOR CAPE

One hundred and counting.

Kenneth Storey has been working the grocery market since he was 12, as a sacker, carry-out boy, manager and owner.

Today, the Southeast Missouri businessman has 100 markets, with plans to add more.

One set of those plans is for Cape Girardeau, where Storey operates Food Giant at 1120 N. Kingshighway.

The plans call for a new supermarket in the vicinity of the 1900 block of North Kingshighway, just north of the Mount Auburn/Lexington/North Kingshighway intersection.

"We should see some activity there in the very near future," said Storey last week.

"We're looking at a 48,000- to 54,000-square-foot market," said Storey, who added that the new market would be a "price-impact" type of store featuring "high volume and low prices."

A 1997 opening is planned.

Will the 28-year-old Food Horizon close?

"We don't have plans to close it," said Storey. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Storey's supermarket chain hit the 100 mark recently when he purchased two Piggly Wiggly stores in Florida.

Storey's announcement is the latest major announcement on Cape Girardeau's future retail scene that will include such giants as Sam's Club, K's Merchandise and Staples Office Supply.

Also on the horizon here are a 14-theater cinema, a Factory Card outlet store and Dollar Tree, all planned for Cape West Business Park.

Construction activity up

Construction activity is up in many areas, fueled by major increases in nonresidential and residential construction.

Building in Missouri rose 20 percent in May from May 1995 figures.

The F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill, an authority on the construction market, reported Missouri construction for May at $595,216,000, up from the $495,894,000 for May 1995.

The state's nonresidential construction for May, which includes commercial, manufacturing and other buildings not designed for shelter, was reported at $236,022,000, up 28 percent from the $73,770,000 figures of the previous May.

Residential construction for the month was $248,179,000, up 28 percent from May 1995's $193,920,000.

The only decrease came in nonbuilding construction, which includes streets, highways, bridges, river and harbor developments, airports and a few other projects. Building in this category was reported at $111,015,000, down 6 percent from the $117,927,000 million of May 1995.

Construction for the first five months was up 6 percent. Overall totals for January through May were $2.6 billion, compared to $2.4 billion a year ago. Nonresidential construction was reported at $898 million, down from the $1 billion a year ago; residential construction was reported at $1.2 billion, up 30 percent from the $887 million of 1995; and nonbuilding was reported at $532 million, 11 percent more than the $479 million of a year ago.

Residential spending increase

Nationally, construction spending declined by 0.9 percent in May, the first drop in three months, as decreases in private outlays offset an increase in government expenditures.

The U.S. Commerce Department said spending on residential, nonresidential and public projects was $563.4 billion, a 4 percent increase over the same month in 1995.

New residential outlays represent 45 percent of the total. Spending on single-family homes was at $155.1 billion nationally.

Spending on apartments and condominiums, which is volatile but not as sensitive to interest-rate changes, fell 11.1 percent.

Nonresidential spending fell nearly 2 percent, to $131 billion.

The government reported sales of new homes shot up 7.5 percent in May, to the highest level in a decade. The government has also reported that new orders to U.S. factories shot up at the fastest pace (1.9 percent) in nine months in May, and that the Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose a strong 0.3 percent, its highest point since February 1995.

These are all indicators that something is right with the economy.

It all dwindles down to state and local statistics.

Good economic indicators

And economic indicators from the first quarter show improvements from last year, including a big jump in new building permits, according to a quarterly report issued last week by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The brightest spot in the state's economic picture was building permits, where construction was up 12.7 percent from the final quarter of 1995, and up more than 27 percent from the same period a year ago.

Joseph L. Driskill, DED director, thinks that a significant increase in building permits is a positive sign

"An increase in construction activity means more jobs in the building sector, which will mean addition production jobs after the conclusion of current projects," said Driskill.

Overall, Driskill thinks the quarterly report indicates a solid economy with stable growth and good, long-range prospects.

The newest Missouri Economic Report shows increases in all major indicators except for those influenced by routine post-holiday lull.

Compared to a year ago, weekly wages for Missouri manufacturing workers were up 3.6 percent, to an average of $557.33.

One significant finding was the increase in employment for the first quarter, where gains were noted in all major employment sectors -- mining, construction, manufacturing, wholesale/retail and service sectors.

Since the first quarter of 1995, Missouri has gained 42,300 new jobs and unemployment is at 4.1 percent during May.

And from the Beige Book

The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, in its Beige Book Summary, also reports that regional economic activity is continuing to pick up from the more sluggish levels noted earlier in the year.

District retailers and auto dealers report recent sales activity at or above last year's levels, and most of those contacted are optimistic about sales prospects over the summer. Some retailers in St. Louis, however, are less optimistic about summer sales because of the strike against McDonnell Douglas by about 6,700 union machinists.

Half of the auto dealers surveyed have been using rebates and other incentives more than usual, and St. Louis and Memphis contacts credit these programs for recent sales increases.

The "Beige Book" is a six times a year report on economic developments throughout portions of seven states, including Missouri.

The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank has branches in Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; and Memphis, Tenn. The district includes all of Arkansas, Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and Indiana, Western Kentucky and Tennessee and northern Mississippi.

Manufacturers report economic growth has been good, but there is a growing concern about labor shortages. The majority of contacts said construction and other skilled trade workers are the most difficult to find and that "poaching," one company luring workers away from another, has been used by numerous district companies.

A National Federation of Independent Business survey of district companies found a fifth of the companies plan to increase inventories over the next six months. About the same amount indicated they would reduce inventories and the rest will maintain their current inventories.

The Beige Report also indicated the number of residential construction permits in most metropolitan areas has increased, some as much as 65 percent. Some areas, especially Southern Illinois and Northern Arkansas, have experienced a shortage of mid-priced homes ($100,000 to $150,000).

Total loans at 11 large district banks declined 2.9 percent in April and May but had increased 3.6 percent from early February through late March. Real estate loans comprised two-fifths of the banks' loan.

On the agriculture front, crops are in good condition except in the northern portions of the district. Land prices are reportedly rising in parts of Arkansas and Western Tennessee. The southern pine lumber mill report said timber prices have fallen because of an excess inventory of logs. Activity at lumber mills is reportedly running below last year's pace.