IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Manufacturing in the Inland Empire stayed up in August, posting modest growth for the second consecutive month.
The region’s purchasing managers index last month was 51.3, up from 50.9 in July, a modest increase but a possible sign of sustained growth, according to the monthly report on Inland manufacturing by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.
If the September index is 50 or better, then Inland manufacturing will again be growing.
On the downside, the commodity price index fell to 46.7. That ended a 61-month streak of above 50, indicating a decrease in production costs. Also, the employment index fell one point, to 46.7, a sign of an ongoing drop in employment.
Thirty-one-point eight percent of the purchasing managers interviewed said they expect the local economy to improve during the next three months, while 54.5 percent expect it to remain the same and 13.6 percent expected it to get weaker, according to the index.
