Growth slowed for Midwest manufacturers for a fourth month as exports and farm employment dipped in July, according to a Creighton University report released Thursday in Omaha.
Meanwhile, manufacturers on the national stage grew significantly in July as orders, production rates and hiring rose at the same time factories' raw-materials costs plunged.
That combination benefited 13 of 18 U.S. manufacturing sectors and helped shove the U.S. producers manufacturing index to a robust 55.4 in July from a modest 50.9 in June. July's reading is the highest seen all year.
The results "generally indicate stable demand and slowly improving business conditions," said Bradley Holcomb, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which issues the monthly national report.
In Minnesota, one of nine states examined by the Creighton survey, business conditions remained relatively strong amid upbeat car and heavy machinery sales. The state's only weak spot was in processed foods and small export items, which saw orders nipped in July.
Minnesota's business conditions index reflected growth but at a slowing pace. The index fell to 54.0 from 56.2 in June, according to the Creighton University study. For both surveys, index numbers above 50 indicate growth, while indexes below 50 signal economic contraction.
The business conditions index for the entire nine-state region slipped to 53.5 from 55.6 in June. The region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, saw a pinch in new orders, production, wholesale prices exports and farm jobs.
"Our regional gauge is much like national measures and indicates that the economy will likely continue to expand and add jobs, but at a slower pace," said Ernie Goss, report author and director of Creighton's Economic Forecasting Group.
For the region, jobs swelled during July as machine manufacturers and specialty processors added staff.
On the downside, agricultural jobs declined, as did the number of workers tied to exporting.
"Job growth for the second half of 2013 will be down for the same period of 2012, when it was a solid annualized 1.7 percent," Goss said.
The national ISM report showed that U.S. factories reporting the strongest growth last month generally made furniture, textiles, paper, nonmetallic minerals, electrical equipment, appliances and computers as well as food, metals and transportation equipment.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
