Things appear to be running on schedule at the Navistar Corp. plant in western Colbert County.

Navistar took over the nearly mile-long plant in the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park on Jan. 1, taking the keys to the building from the National Alabama railcar operation.

As of Friday, there were 161 workers on site, with 22 more expected to be added this week.

At some point, Navistar plans to have 1,800 workers at the plant. State officials expect at least 2,200 workers on site, but that could include workers involved in supplier businesses that will operate in the park.

Company officials are apparently still sorting out exactly what they will produce there. They have certainly been unwilling to even provide a hint of what’s on the drawing board.

We know they’re still filling railcar orders that were landed when National Alabama owned the plant. With that market apparently improving nationwide, it’s safe to assume Navistar will at least entertain thoughts of building more railcars. There could be other “side projects” at the plant as well, but the mystery remains about what the signature project will be.

The smart money is on some type of large truck, though. It makes sense on many fronts, especially considering Navistar’s Huntsville operation can complement that kind of production.

We were told to expect a celebration late last year, an event where details of what will be built in Barton were to be released. A date for the celebration had not been scheduled as of Friday ...

The Shoals’ ability to buck the national economic trend continues to attract national attention. Our community’s success was recently featured in EconSouth, a magazine affiliated with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The two-page article discusses the Shoals rounding a 25-year economic curve by diversifying its economy. Shoals Chamber of Commerce President Steve Holt and Kerry Gatlin, dean of UNA’s business college, were quoted often in the article ...

For those who have asked, here are some notes about local economic happenings: