2016: A Year in Review

IT has been a momentous 12 months and when historians look back on 2016 they will have plenty to occupy their time – from the seismic shift to Brexit to the shock US election to the heroics of Team GB at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The West Midlands has also undergone a major year with the introduction of the new super-council, the West Midlands Combined Authority, the establishment of the Midlands Engine and the race on for the first elected West Midlands Mayor – although we’ll have to wait until May for the outcome of that.

Arguably, the one trend which has characterised the year has been on the sporting front, with Chinese investors demonstrating their faith in the West Midlands with the purchase of not one – but three our clubs (Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers ), while a fourth (Birmingham City) underwent a change of ownership in Hong Kong.

Whether they will get the returns on their investments remains to be seen; most football fans are keeping an open mind on the matter.

On the business front, the year seems to have sadly been dominated by a succession of business failures – with the pages of TheBusinessDesk.com seemingly full of administrations and job losses.

The failure of electrical contractor EIC, putting 400 jobs at risk was a shock – as was the collapse of Chinese-backed Coventry automotive components firm, Covpress.

The engineering and manufacturing sector seems to be have been one of the worst affected, with a string of administrations and with fears over higher costs because of the weakness of sterling, many are bracing themselves for further problems next year.

One non-manufacturing closure came as a surprise – especially because the company concerned was profitable and seemingly successful. However, the decision by Lloyds Bank to pull the plug on its West Midlands-based Lex Autolease operation in Coventry and Oldbury had more to do with the bank’s continuing woes than it did the state of the used car market.

Indeed, the car market in general, especially for new cars, remained buoyant – despite fears that Brexit could cause retraction.

The car industry was once again the standout one for the region, with Jaguar Land Rover continuing its spectacular growth with the opening on a new plant in Brazil, the start of work on one in Slovakia and the expansion of its Castle Bromwich, Lode Lane and Coventry sites.

The year may have begun on a sad note for the company with the end of production of the Defender after near 68 years but the new generation of buyers has taken vehicles such as the Jaguar F-Pace to their hearts, making it’s the brand’s fastest-ever seller.

Transport continued to dominate the headlines throughout the year and the West Midlands was at the heart of the debate.

The opportunities presented by HS2 continue to dominate the region’s economy and much of its fortunes over the next decade will be shaped by the £56bn railway.

On the roads, congestion remained an issue with a major accident on the M6 in February setting the agenda for much of what was to follow. The accident resulted in the closure of the motorway near Birmingham for almost 24 hours, leaving the city centre gridlocked. The situation lead to calls for the M6 Toll to be made free to use; a debate which is still going on.

The general state of the roads remains a problem, with several Chambers of Commerce citing the poor condition of many routes as the reason for difficulties in getting goods from A to B.

It has been a mixed year for Birmingham Airport, the facility was buoyed by an announcement that holiday operator Jet2.com was making a big investment, opening up 15 new routes from next year, while Emirates also introduced the first Airbus A380 service out of the airport.

However, it was left reeling September when American Airlines announced it was pulling its service to New York JFK from next month.

There was some brighter news, the promise of the HS2 interchange brings fresh hopes of expansion – including the possibility of a second runway – and improvements to the roads infrastructure cannot come soon enough.