IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
It’s official: the Inland Empire’s manufacturing sector has been growing, uninterrupted, for one year.
The region’s purchasing managers index in August was 57.7, well above the 50 benchmark that determines growth or contraction in any category, the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino reported today.
Despite being a three-point month-over-month decline, August’s index was the 12th consecutive month above 50, a noteworthy accomplishment considering it happened during the worst of COVID-19.
On the negative side, production in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties was 53.2, down from 58.6 in July. But new orders – 53.2 – were up slightly, and both those numbers combined indicate that Inland manufacturing probably will continue to grow during the next few months.
The commodity price index last month was 83.9, which the report called “extremely high.”
Perhaps the most ominous number in this month’s report was the employment index, which went from 58.6. in July to 48.4 last month. That trend is disrupting supply chains and production, according to the report.
“It’s taking 10 weeks to get materials when it used to take 3-4, and it’s due to not having enough workers and raw materials,” one production manager, quoted anonymously, said.
Thirteen percent of the purchasing managers surveyed said they expect the local economy to get stronger during the next three months, while 57 percent predicted it will remain unchanged. Only 19 percent said they expect the local economy to get stronger during that time, down from 30 percent last month, according to the report.
