Omaha, Nebraska — The Mid-America Business Index for August shows Iowa’s manufacturing sector is being hit by a sales slowdown. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss checks in each month with manufacturing supply managers in nine states, including Iowa.
The state’s overall Business Conditions rating for August marks a fourth month of decline from what Goss calls “growth neutral.”
New orders and production were down among Iowa manufacturers in the August report — released on Tuesday — with an overall decline in hiring.
Goss cites a pull-back in facilities that produce fabricated metal. According to the latest data from the U.S. International Trade Administration, exports from Iowa’s manufacturing sector through August are down nearly six percent when compared to the first eight months of last year.
Goss has a separate survey that focuses exclusively on what’s happening the agricultural sector.
Goss says the supply managers he surveys for the monthly Mid-America Business Index are pessimistic and 35 percent of them say a recession is a real threat.
