IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Inland Empire manufacturing ended 2024 on a down note.
The region’s purchasing managers index in December was 42.5, down from 55.5 in November, according to the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.
That was the first time since July the index fell below 50, the benchmark that determines whether manufacturing is expanding or contracting in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Should the index remain below 50 in January and February – it takes three consecutive above or below that number to establish a trend – then Inland manufacturing will be retracting.
Production and new orders, the index’s two most important components, dropped substantially between November and December: from 55 to 34.4 in production, and from 50 to 25 in new orders.
The production slowdown was because of the end of the holiday shopping season.
The inventory index registered 50, a decline from November but in line with past post-holiday numbers. Supply deliveries remained above 50.
Thirty-seven-point five percent of the purchasing managers surveyed expect the Inland economy to improve during the next three months, while 42.9 percent expect it to remain the same. Twenty-one-point four percent said they believe the local economy will get weaker during that time.
