IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Inland Empire manufacturing grew for the fourth consecutive month in April, as production and new orders posted month-over-month increases.
The region’s purchasing managers index last month was 54, a sign of growth not only in manufacturing but in the region’s overall economy, according to data release May 1 by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.
The month-over-month increase in production was modest – 53.3, up from 52.2 – but the increase in new orders was more substantial: 55, up from 50, the first increase in that category in three months.
The employment index – 51.7 – crept above 50 after four straight months below that number, while the 61.7 commodity price index was up from 56.3 in March.
Fifty three point eight percent of the purchasing managers interviewed said they expect the Inland economy to get worse in the next three months, while 42.3 percent said they believe it will remain where it is now. Only 3.8 percent said they expect it to remain the same during that time, the institute reported.
