Inland manufacturing slips

Manufacturing in the Inland Empire took a fall last month.

The region’s purchasing managers index fell to 46.6 in August, down from 54.3 in July, according to the Institute of Applied Research & Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino, which released its monthly index on the Inland region’s marketing sector Tuesday.

That report ended 10 consecutive months of reports for the Inland region that scored 50 or above, the dividing line for a growing or shrinking manufacturing sector.

However, it takes three consecutive months in either direction to establish a trend, so there’s no reason to panic yet, said Barbara Sirotnik, director of the institute and one of the report’s authors.

“Given the recent negative economic reports, it’s not too surprising that the Inland Empire purchasing managers index also declined,” Sirotnik said in a statement.

Sirotnik noted that production and new orders both fell sharply last month, as did employment and total inventory. The drop in inventory either means suppliers can’t meet the demand for a product, or demand is low and the suppliers are getting rid of their stock.

“No comments were made by purchasing managers to help explain this decrease,” Sirotnik said in the statement.

Twenty six percent of the purchasing managers surveyed said they believe the economy will improve during the next quarter, while 32 percent said they expect it to get weaker and 42 percent said they believe it will stay the same, the report stated.