Category

Strengths (S)

Weaknesses (W)

Opportunities (O)

Threats (T)

Ease of Doing Business

Top 10 State for Business: Recently ranked No. 9 nationally for "Top State for Doing Business" (Area Development Magazine, 2025). Low Cost: Favorable property costs and a low overall cost of doing business. Streamlined Process: New initiatives like "Project Lightning Speed" aim to formalize and expedite interagency coordination for major projects.

Historical Perception: Despite recent improvements (e.g., jump from 31st to 18th in economic outlook), the state struggles to shed its historical reputation as an economic underperformer.

Economic Diversification: Top rankings can be leveraged to attract investment outside of the traditional energy sector (e.g., technology, advanced manufacturing).

Fiscal & Regulatory Uncertainty: The business community remains concerned about the renewal of pro-manufacturing federal tax policies set to expire, which could result in significant job losses.

Domestic Manufacturing

Massive Economic Contribution: Manufacturing is a major sector, adding $51.8 billion of value (17.8% of state GDP) and employing over 134,100 people. High Wages: Manufacturing employees earn a high average annual salary of over $108,000. Focus on Local Supply: New initiatives like "Source Louisiana" aim to prioritize the use of homegrown businesses in state-incentivized projects.

Concentration Risk: The sector is heavily concentrated in energy-intensive industries: petrochemicals, refining, and natural gas. This leaves it vulnerable to global oil/gas price volatility and environmental transition policies.

Energy Transition Manufacturing: Major opportunity to attract manufacturing related to renewable energy components, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies, leveraging existing petrochemical expertise.

Loss of Tax Incentives: Failure by Congress to renew key pro-manufacturing federal tax reforms (e.g., 2017 Tax Cuts) could lead to an estimated loss of 76,000 Louisiana jobs.

Sustainability Initiatives

Agency Restructuring: The former Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) has been updated to the Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E), signaling a shift toward balancing development and resource protection. Local Efforts: Active local efforts through grants (e.g., Keep Louisiana Beautiful) for waste management, recycling, and litter reduction.

Reliance on Fossil Fuels: The state's economic engine is its natural resources and energy sector, which makes a rapid, large-scale shift away from high-carbon activities a complex political and financial challenge.

Blue and Green Economy: Excellent strategic location for developing CCUS, hydrogen, and other low-carbon fuel technologies, leveraging existing industrial infrastructure and Gulf Coast geography.

Climate Change & Disasters: Extreme weather and sea-level rise pose a continuous, existential threat to the state's coastal industry and infrastructure, requiring constant, massive investment in resiliency and emergency response.

Balance of Trade

Exceptional Trade Surplus: Louisiana runs a strong positive trade balance (e.g., $4.39 billion in July 2025) due to massive exports of refined petroleum, natural gas, and agricultural products. Top 5 Exporter: Ranked fifth nationally in total exports, making it a critical hub for US global trade.

High Export/Import Concentration: Trade is heavily focused on a few core commodities (petroleum, gas, soybeans) and a limited set of top trading partners (China, Mexico, Netherlands).

Strategic Port Development: Leveraging its access to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico to increase its role as a global logistics gateway for both traditional and new commodity flows.

Geopolitical Trade Tensions: As a major exporter of energy and agricultural goods, the state is highly exposed to international political disputes, tariffs, and quota changes affecting its largest markets.