IE manufacturing slows a little, but is still healthy

Inland Empire manufacturing continued to expand in July, continuing a trend of steady growth ongoing for nearly one year.

The region’s purchasing managers index was 60.7 last month, according to data released today by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.

That was the 11th consecutive month of manufacturing growth – an index of 50 or higher – for Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The June index was 67.3, but the drop to 60.7 is probably not cause for concern. Rather, it’s a sign that the economy grew quickly when businesses began to reopen after the lockdown, and that growth rate slowed slightly in July, the report states.

Commodity prices, new orders, production, inventory, and employment all continued to grow, but each grew at a slower pace than it did in June. Only supply deliveries slowed between June and July, according to the index.

Purchasing managers expressed concerns about the price of materials going up, including paper, aluminum, natural gas, steel, and rubber. One even complained about the price of “everything” going up.

Still, purchasing managers are optimistic about the next three months.

Thirty-one percent of those surveyed said they expect the local economy to get stronger during that time and 50 percent said they expect it to remain the same. The remaining 19 percent said they expect it to weaken, essentially unchanged from last month, according to the index.