Month: May 2018

Manufacturing Still Growing in Radius Region

BEDFORD, Ind. (May 24, 2018) – Radius Indiana released an update today to its Radius Manufacturing Index (RMI). The index shows that the manufacturing sector continues to see growth in several components across the region.

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

The RMI shows how the region is performing in comparison to the state of Indiana. Radius’s overall index increased from 60.15 to 60.2 between quarter four of 2017 and quarter one of 2018, while the state increased from 54.87 to 55.46 between the same quarters. While overall the index increased, the number of manufacturing jobs dropped slightly, which may suggest that workforce in the Radius region is becoming more skilled and productive, requiring fewer workers to complete the same amount of work.

For the region, yearly wages increased by $869 bringing the average manufacturing wage to $46,283, and manufacturing GDP as a percent of total GDP also has increased by 0.71.

“As the economy continues to grow, the increased wage numbers is a great sign that our organizations are feeling confident in the market,” said Shance Sizemore, CEO at the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence County Economic Growth Council. “This kind of increase benefits a lot of aspects of our local economy and it’s important that we have access to this kind of information.”

The location quotient for manufacturing, which measures how concentrated a business sector is in a region or state compared to that sector’s national average, decreased between the two quarters from 2.21 to 2.05. This decline may reflect that the regional economy is becoming more diversified, and other sectors are becoming stronger. Both healthcare and tourism showed increased location quotients for the quarter.

“The RMI has helped Radius understand exactly how manufacturing is affecting the region and allows us to make sure that we are staying competitive with the rest of the state,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius. “We are able to learn things about manufacturing that otherwise we wouldn’t know, and we work with that information to keep things growing within the sector.”

The Radius Manufacturing Index uses statistics from publicly available sources 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.

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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 Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

 

Crane’s Impact on Our Region

By: Matt Craig, Director of Crane Community

There has long been a military presence in the southwestern area of Indiana, which consists of Naval Support Activity Crane, (NSA Crane), the nation’s third-largest naval base. Since 1941, Crane has heeded the call of the United States of America by serving our nation’s Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

Over that time Crane has evolved from its early beginnings focused on the production of munitions and flares, to a regional hub of advanced technology focused on some of our nation’s most pressing technology needs.

Recently, Radius had the opportunity to assess the annual economic impact of Crane for 2017. Its impact is nothing short of incredible, if evidenced only by the $406.4 million Crane pays to its civilian and contractor employees.

That nearly half a billion is injected into our region, with the economic multiplier effect of that certainly exceeding $1 billion. That $406.4 million is paid to a 5500-strong workforce who own homes, rent apartments, buy cars, shop and dine, along with their families.

Monroe County is loaded with 1359 Crane workers, accounting for $107.3 million in direct impact. An additional 412 jobs are created to support those employees, totaling 1,771 jobs with a $283 million economic impact.

With 1,073 workers located in Lawrence County, there is an impact of $79.5 million, a further benefit of 274 jobs, which help produce a complete effect of 1347 jobs and $199 million in economic activity.

Crane’s economic impact goes beyond its civilian and contractor payroll. While we didn’t have all the local supplies and various public works contracts available for analysis, it is notable that over 6,100 contracts at one command exceeded $1.1 billion in awards. When you add it all up, Crane generated over $2.1 billion in impact, for just one year.

We hope that the workforce will continue to grow in the coming years. Today Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane’s civilian workforce stands 3,255 strong, larger than at any point in the past three decades.  With over 900 employees becoming eligible for retirement in the next five years, we believe there will be many new opportunities for the community. Our region needs to ensure there is a workforce available to replace those retiring in the coming years.

This helps put in perspective why anytime Crane has faced potential threats of closure through the Base Realignment and Closure Commission the community has rallied and fought to ensure Crane’s survival. Ultimately, Crane has been able to avoid an economically catastrophic closure because of the quality and importance of the work it does. Much of the credit goes to the men and women who work together to ensure Crane fulfills its vital missions.