But this volume isn't enough to keep up with the job losses. Two hundred companies are in our client base now and are strongly committed or are considering El Paso for relocation or expansion. Now in two years, it's gone from 40 to 200 on list. That cooperation is based on an acknowledgment that a regional approach is the key to El Paso's future. The group aims to recreate the historic Camino Real trail as a modern-day trade corridor, focused on improving the economic growth of the region, which includes Chihuahua, New Mexico and West Texas.
Members particularly focus on border business.
The growth of maquiladoras in Juarez just across the Rio Grande, makes it impossible to ignore El Paso's position as the gateway of the region. Economist David C. Jordan of Tucson Economic Consulting says geographic isolation is a thing of the past. He points out other factors that have added to the area's economic struggles. These include the loss of more than 4,000 troops at Fort Bliss, which added up to a loss of more than 6,000 people in the area and their earning power. A fluctuating U.S. economy added to instabilities.