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.