Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, growth in the e-commerce, logistics and transportation industries, which were already booming in the Lehigh Valley, has gone full tilt.

Don Cunningham, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., said the region had a record-breaking GDP of $43.3 billion in 2019. That’s 5.7% over 2018 and the Lehigh Valley outpaced Pennsylvania’s growth of 4%.

While the shutdown of real estate and construction in Pennsylvania from the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed the market, a report by CBRE shows that the Greater Lehigh Valley and surrounding regions retained a robust commercial real estate activity during the second quarter.

The Lehigh Valley is once again one of the top regions in both the Northeast and the nation when it comes to economic development activity. Site Selection magazine has put out its annual rankings of regions based on the number of economic development projects completed, under construction or announced.

As companies look to the Lehigh Valley to move or expand headquarters and manufacturing operations, a key part of their decision-making is the question of workforce. If the workforce exists, that’s where they will go, and it’s a top reason many major companies recently announced plans to build in the region.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., Discover Lehigh Valley and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce have formed an alliance, which they are calling “Made Possible in the Lehigh Valley.”

A platform company based in Radnor is redeveloping the home of a pharmaceutical giant into a massive co-working center for life sciences companies in the Philadelphia market.