IAR’S INLAND EMPIRE REPORT ON BUSINESS

Report for May 2014

Sponsors:
San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency
Riverside County Economic Development Agency

(Editor’s note: The Inland Empire (I.E.) is a metropolitan area and region of Southern California. It is situated directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.)

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PMI ABOVE 50 FOR THE SECOND MONTH

According to Barbara Sirotnik (Director of the Institute of Applied Research), and Lori Aldana (Project Coordinator, Institute of Applied Research), “This month’s PMI (57.7) remained above the baseline 50% mark for the second month in a row, with only a slight drop from last month’s PMI (59.1). The methodology underpinning the PMI requires three consecutive months either above or below 50% in order to determine that a change in direction has occurred in the local manufacturing sector. Therefore, if next month’s figure continues above 50, a statement that the manufacturing sector is back to growth mode can be made.”

“All key indicators of the PMI remained at or above the baseline 50% mark. Production decreased from 65.2 last month to 62.5 this month. New Orders registered a slight drop from 65.2 to 64.1. The Employment Index decreased from 54.5 last month to 51.6 this month, but the fact that the index remained above 50 means that more companies are hiring than downsizing. The Supplier Deliveries Index decreased from 56.1 to 48.4 this month indicating that delivery times are getting faster.”