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Business is booming in Terrebonne Parish,
and for a good reason - our parish has a
diverse group of industries working together
to keep the local economy strong. From oil
and gas services, to retail, to seafood
- Terrebonne has the industry to support
our more than 105,000 residents.
Here in Terrebonne Parish, we do not just
have the industry to provide a healthy economy,
but we also have a strong civilian labor
force, totaling over 49,000. Need more workers?
Terrebonne Parish employers have easy access
to the entire labor force in surrounding
regions - over 70,000 workers.
Louisiana's supply of oil, natural gas and
mineral resources has been a great source
of the state's wealth for several decades.
As a coastal parish, Terrebonne Parish contributes
to Louisiana's hold on the oil and gas industry
by offering a prime location for many oil
and gas-related businesses to flourish.
Major oil and gas corporations are located
in the area, as well as Terrebonne's seemingly
unending list of oil and gas service companies.
Metal Fabrication and Machining
Metal fabrication and machining companies
in Terrebonne Parish manufacture metal or
fabricated steel products for a variety
of uses, including the manufacture of parts
and equipment for the oil and gas service
companies. Metal fabrication and machining
companies are one of the largest sources
of employment in Terrebonne Parish.
The marine services industry thrives primarily
on providing marine transportation services.
This sector has businesses in a variety
of activities, from tug boat companies that
transport barges stocked full of goods,
to crew boat and supply boat companies that
transport personnel and supplies for many
of the area's oil and gas companies.
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Several local shipbuilding companies take
advantage of Terrebonne Parish's need for
boats to service the offshore petroleum industry.
Many of these companies also thrive on the
building of government-contracted military
ships, as well.
Approximately 500 retail establishments flourish
in Terrebonne Parish, together employing around
7,000 people. Annual retail payroll figures
in Terrebonne Parish top $113 million. Retail
businesses in the area can offer virtually
any sort of product imaginable: automobile
parts, clothing, specialty food items, home
furnishings, gardening supplies, and much,
much more.
The medical service industry is one of the
top employers in the parish. Terrebonne General
Medical Center (TGMC) employs almost 1,500
people, and offers 321 licensed beds. Another
large area hospital, Leonard J. Chabert Medical
Center, employs almost 1,000 workers, and
offers patients over 200 beds. Terrebonne
Parish is home to a vast array of other medical
facilities, including dentistry, psychiatric
care, surgical clinics, chiropractic clinics,
and ophthalmology offices.
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South Terrebonne's easy access to the deeper
waters of the Gulf of Mexico has helped provide
work for local commercial fishermen for decades.
The Gulf of Mexico offers fishermen a terrific
supply of marine life, including shellfish
like crabs, oysters, and shrimp, and a host
of other fish as well. Parish economic activity
generated from commercial fishing has increased
with the ability to process the catch, package
it, and finally distribute it.
Because our parish leaders understand how
important business is to our economy, they
have worked hard to make Terrebonne Parish
a business-friendly environment.
Area colleges, universities, and vocational-technical
schools at all levels are increasing industry-specific
training in their curriculums. They are also
developing partnerships with industry that
involve human and technological development.
By doing so, Terrebonne area schools are helping
to ensure that new and expanding businesses
will have a continuous pool of workers with
the level of education and expertise necessary
for all their operations.
The parish has 20 specifically designated
industrial sites, ranging from less than 100
acres to approximately 9,000 acres - plenty
of room to grow a business of any size. The
sites are located across the parish in Houma,
Bourg, Gibson, and Schriever. Many of these
sites offer access to railroads and waterways.
Entrepreneurs will be happy to find many unused
and underused industrial sites within Terrebonne,
offering opportunities for private or joint
public-private redevelopment. Sites are available
along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW), and
near air, rail, and highway barge transportation
systems.
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Businesses in Terrebonne Parish benefit from
our efficient, well-planned highway system.
US-90, the parish's main transportation artery,
curves across the northern portion of Terrebonne
Parish, heads northeast towards New Orleans
and northwest through Assumption Parish towards
Interstate Highways 10 and 49. LA-20 lines
the northwestern border of the parish, LA-24
curves around the northeastern portion of
Terrebonne through Houma, and LA-56 and LA-57
travel north-south from Houma to the southern
areas of the parish.
Terrebonne-area businesses have little trouble
with transportation, since the parish has
access to a large number of transportation
means.
Nationwide passenger service can be found
with Greyhound Bus Lines. The New Orleans
International Airport, roughly a one hour
drive from Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce,
is the nearest commercial airport and largest
in the state. All major domestic airlines,
as well as several international carriers,
serve the airport. Local bus transportation
is provided by Good Earth Transit.
For private aircraft needs, Terrebonne Parish
can turn to the Houma-Terrebonne Airport and
the Thibodaux Municipal Airport. Both accommodate
private and corporate aircraft, and are among
the busiest general aviation facilities in
the state.
Southern Pacific ships out freight via rail,
whose tracks run through the town of Schriever.
All major motor freight carriers service Terrebonne
Parish.
Waterway transportation routes are abundant
in Terrebonne Parish, the largest of which
is the 19,000-mile Mississippi River System.
This system allows cargo from Terrebonne Parish
to be delivered to all of mid-America. The
Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW), a path that
rims the coastal inland of the northern Gulf
of Mexico, runs east-west through central
Terrebonne Parish. The Houma Navigational
Canal runs north-south from Houma to Cocodrie
and into the Gulf of Mexico. Port Fourchon,
located a few miles away in southern Lafourche
Parish, provides shallow draft access.
The nearest deepwater ports are roughly an
hour away at the Plaquemines Parish Port and
the Port of New Orleans, which operates a
foreign Trade Zone. The Louisiana Offshore
Oil Port (LOOP) is also nearby in the Gulf
of Mexico, serving as the nation's only "Super
Port." LOOP is designed for oil tankers
that cannot navigate inland waters, shallow
or deep draft.
Local parcel service is provided by Airborne,
Emery, United Parcel Service, Federal Express,
and the United States Postal Service.
There is no mystery behind Terrebonne Parish's
performance. Whether it is our convenient
and easy-access location, our selection of
transportation routes and services, our labor
force, or our diverse group of industries,
nothing comes remotely close to the business
opportunities in Terrebonne Parish.
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