IE manufacturing stays solid

Manufacturing in the Inland Empire turned in another solid month in February.

The region’s purchasing managers index was 59, a substantial increase compared with the 53.5 recorded in January, according to the monthly report on manufacturing released Monday by the Institute of Applied and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.

Even better, February was the fifth month in a row that the index was above 50, the benchmark for whether the region’s manufacturing sector is growing or getting smaller.

Since three consecutive months – either positive or negative – is considered a trend, it’s accurate to say that manufacturing is growing in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said Barbara Sirotnik, the institute’s director.

“We were encouraged by production and new orders, both of which were up, but we were most encouraged by the job growth,” said Sirotnik, who helps put together the index. “The employment number is always the big one.”

Broken down, production went from 54.8 to 64.5 between January and February, new orders went from 57.8 to 62.9 and employment in the region’s manufacturing sector went 51.6 to 59.7 during that time.

The region’s purchasing managers were a little more optimistic in February than they usually are; 83 percent of those surveyed said they expect the economy to either stay the same or improve during the next three months.

“They’ve been seeing slow, steady growth for awhile, and it looks like they expect it to continue,” Sirotnik said.