A new report from the U’s Transportation Policy and Economic Competitiveness (TPEC) Program looks at the importance of multimodal transportation in sustaining Minnesota’s medical device industry cluster. This cluster is a global center of innovation and production, and industry leaders suggest there is plenty of room for further growth.
The report incorporates perspectives from industry leaders, state policymakers, and other stakeholders. It also looks at challenges and opportunities stemming from the pandemic and offers recommendations for policies and actions.
In addition, the report has findings from a TPEC study that identified medical device industry “hot spots” in the Twin Cities metro. Researchers found that the northwest suburb of Plymouth stands out as a significant hot spot for medical device companies and for production technology companies, which are key suppliers of medical device companies.
Two other hot spots are Maplewood, home of 3M headquarters, and Fridley, home to Medtronic. By identifying hot spots, the researchers note, it may be easier to target transportation investments where they would be most useful for freight routes.
The report is available on the TPEC website.
