Month: February 2017

Manufacturing remains strong in Radius region

BEDFORD, Ind. (Feb.13, 2017) — Radius Indiana released the First Quarter 2017 Radius Manufacturing Index (RMI). The index shows that the manufacturing sector continues to remain strong in the eight-county region, as growth continues at a moderate pace.

RMI was developed by Radius Indiana and provides the organization an analytic tool that monitors several facets to gauge the strength of the manufacturing industry in the region in southern Indiana.

“Our index, the RMI, shows that manufacturing growth is continuing, but is reaching a more sustainable level compared to the high growth we saw when coming out of the recession a few years go,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius. “Manufacturing as a share of the regional economy is still an important stalwart of the productivity the Radius region is known for.”

According to the RMI, average manufacturing wages climbed during the quarter, but remain below the state and national averages for manufacturing wages. Manufacturers as a percentage of the total number of business establishments in the region also increased in this quarter’s index.  That bump means the location quotient for manufacturing in the Radius region also increased. The location quotient (LQ) is a measure of how concentrated a business sector is in a region or state compared to that sector’s national average. The Radius region LQ is 2.86 indicating a higher concentration of manufacturing than the nation’s LQ of 1, and is also higher than the state of Indiana’s LQ of 2.02.

The overall index declined from 57.54 to 55.96 for the Radius region. The leveling of the five-year job growth component accounted for virtually the entire amount of the decline, falling from 7.78 to 6.26.  Likewise, the Indiana measurement of the index showed a decline from 56.62 to 54.54, which was also largely driven by the leveling off of the five-year job growth component.  Radius continues to show an index figure higher than the state average and area manufacturers remain optimistic about the health of this industry sector.

“Our plant continues to produce a constant stream of products, and to have a regular stream of orders from customers,” reported Pam Loughmiller, a member of the Radius Indiana board of directors, and president of Loughmiller Machine, Tool & Design. Loughmiller’s firm, which is located in Daviess County, produces components for the defense industry, automotive industry, and other industrial clients.

The Radius Manufacturing Index uses statistics from publicly available sources and from EMSI to provide an estimate of the state of health of the manufacturing sector in the region. The Index is a backward looking tool that reflects conditions approximately six months in the past, based on the dates for some of the statistics used.

ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

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