Title: Economy of Spokane, Washington - Wikipedia
Headings: Economy of Spokane, Washington
Economy of Spokane, Washington
Contents
Economic history overview
Trade
Mining boom
Logging, forestry, and agribusiness
Stagnation
Economy diversification
Head offices
Prominent industries
Agriculture
Mining and forestry products
Manufacturing
Transportation and distribution
Tourism and hospitality
Energy and technology
Healthcare
Economic development
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Content: By the early 20th century Spokane was primarily a commercial center rather than an industrial center. The agricultural hinterland of the Inland Northwest was a breadbasket and was able to develop and grow further with the completion of several railroad networks as well as a highway system that began to center around the city, aiding farmers from around the region in distributing their products to market at low cost. As with mining in the late 1880s, Spokane was an important agricultural market and trade and supply center. Stagnation
The Industrial Worker began publication in Spokane in 1909. This work was produced during the US Panic of 1910–1911
Expansion abruptly stopped in the 1910s and was followed by a period of population decline, due in large part to Spokane's slowing economy. Control of regional mines and resources became increasingly dominated by national corporations rather than local people and organizations, diverting capital outside of Spokane and decreasing growth and investment opportunities in the city. The Inland Northwest region was heavily dependent on natural resources and extractive goods produced from mines, forests, and farms, which experienced a fall in demand. After the 1929 stock market crash and during the Great Depression, the lumber industry demand began to wane and by the mid 1930s about half the woodworkers in northern Idaho were laid off and the surviving mills were producing only 160 million board feet of lumber per year. The situation improved slightly with the start of World War II as defense aluminum production commenced in Spokane due to the area's cheap electricity (produced from regional dams) and the increased demand for airplanes. The two aluminum plants, the Mead Works reduction plant and Trentwood Works rolling mill brought thousands of heavy industry manufacturing jobs to the Spokane area and supplied the materials to make landing craft for use in the Pacific Theater .