Local Manufacturing Holds Steady

Manufacturing in the Inland Empire held its own last month, according to data released Friday.

The region’s purchasing manager’s index was 54.4 in June, virtually unchanged from the 55.0 recorded in May, Cal State San Bernardino’s Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis reported in its monthly manufacturing study.

This was the sixth consecutive month the index was above 50, the benchmark for whether manufacturing is expanding or contracting.

All six of the indicators that make up the index – commodity prices, production, new orders, inventory, employment and supply deliveries – were at 50 or higher, indicating that the manufacturing sector in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is strong.

Manufacturers in the two-county region also expressed some confidence about the short-term future of the local economy: seven percent said they expect the economy to get stronger during the next three months, while 70 percent said they expect it to remain unchanged.

Only 23 percent of those surveyed said they expect the Inland Empire economy to get worse during the upcoming quarter, according to the study.