The Greater Harrisburg Area constitutes a well-rounded economic community with payrolls from diversified sources, including government, transportation, manufacturing, wholesaling and military establishments.

In the Harrisburg Metropolitan Area 33,000 are employed in 410 manufacturing plants; 17,000 in three defense depots (Olmstead Airforce Base at Middletown, a huge over-haul supply depot; Mechanicsburg Naval Supply Depot, the largest inland establishment of its kind in the world; and the Army General Depot at New CumberIandl; 11,000 work in the State Capitol; 7,000 people are employed by the Pennsylvania and Reading railroads; 7,000 work in wholesale trades; 4,000 in service establishments and 3,000 in various insurance offices.

In recent years Metropolitan Harrisburg has become "The Heart of Distribution''-the slogan adopted by the Chamber of Commerce- as 434 distribution installations, taking advantage of the area's excellent transportation facilities, have been established in this central Pennsylvania area. Several nation-wide companies have established distribution warehouses in the lemoyne area along Pennsylvania Railroad tracks on the West bank of the Susquehanna River. General Foods, Quaker Oats, Ralston Purina, General Electric Appliance, Buick division of General Motors and Kaiser Metals are among the companies to set up distribution centers there.

The production of steel and steel products provides employment in this area normally for about 10,000 people. Bethlehem Steel Company, at Steelton, is the largest rail mill in the United States.

The Plate Division of the Phoenix Iron and Steel Company, formerly known as the Central Iron and Steel Company, is a subsidiary of the Barium Steel Corporation and specializes in the manufacture of steel plates.

Harrisburg Steel Corporation produces high pressure seamless gas cylinders, liquefiers, pipe couplings, hollow and drop forgings, pipe flanges, liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, special trackwork, railroad frogs and switches. Other steel products turned out here include structural units, forgings, expanded pipe, bailer, marine, hull, deck and bridge plates.

For the 12 month period ending August 31, 1957 the freight gross revenue from the Harrisburg agency was $6,673,625 and the passenger gross revenue was $2,335,390. The new industrial developments across the river, in the lemoyne area, provided freight gross revenues amounting to $4,127, 112 for the same period.