Inland manufacturing roars back

Sighs of relief accompanied the release of the most recent purchasing managers index for the Inland Empire.

That’s because the index for April was 59.1, a jump of 10.1 points compared with March’s 49 index, according to the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino.

Any number of 50 or above means the region’s manufacturing sector is growing, so the March number can be safely dismissed as an aberration and not the start of a downward trend, said Barbara Sirotnik, project coordinator with the institute.

Even though it takes three consecutive months to establish a trend, no one wants to see the the index drop below 50, even for one month.

But production index rose from 48.3 to 65.2 between March and April, and new orders jumped from 50 to 65.2 during that time, indicating that manufacturing in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is again moving in the right direction.

“I always get a little nervous when it gets below 50, but clearly now it’s back to moving in the right direction,” Sirotnik said. “The production and new orders numbers, which are the first two things I look at, were both solid.”

The region’s purchasing managers were optimistic about the economy’s immediate future. Twenty nine percent predicted the economy will get better during the next three months, while only 13 percent said it will be weaker.

Fifty eight percent of the purchasing managers surveyed said they expect the economy to remain the same, according to the index.

The index will likely stay in the mid-50s for the next few months, Sirotnik said.