Manufacturing Industry Continues to Lead in the Radius Indiana Region

BEDFORD, Ind. (Dec. 19, 2017) – Radius Indiana released an update today to its Radius Manufacturing Index (RMI). The index shows that the manufacturing sector continues to see growth across the eight-county region.

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.

The RMI shows how the region is performing in comparison to the state of Indiana. Radius’s overall index increased from 58.27 to 60.15 between quarter three and quarter four, while the state dropped from 55.65 to 54.87 between the same quarters. The index indicates that the state’s economy may be growing more diversified, while the Radius region continues to see a growing manufacturing concentration.

For the region, yearly wages increased by $593 bringing the average manufacturing wage to $45,414, and manufacturing GDP as a percent of total GDP also has increased. Between quarters, job growth is up nearly half a percent at 0.48.

“This year has been extremely successful for the Radius region. Our manufacturers have created a positive work environment that has kept these jobs in our area,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius. “Manufacturing has seen a constant increase in our region for all of 2017 and I have high hopes that will continue into the New Year.”

Earlier this year, Radius hosted the region’s first economic development incentive seminar to educate area accountants and financial managers about business growth opportunities. After the session, Radius reached out to the participants for feedback on the current status of their clients’ businesses and the local economy.

Of the respondents, 50 percent report that Radius region businesses have hired employees in the past year, and predict that they will have to hire more in the next year. Radius believes this is indicative of further increases in the job growth for the region. In addition, the survey revealed that 75 percent of the financial managers expect no decrease in sales or production for 2018, and a majority are seeing new company formations.

The survey results support this quarter’s RMI by showing that job growth has increased, and that the accountants and financial managers are continuing to see growth in key sectors across the Radius region.

Chief Executive Officer of the Bedford Chamber and Lawrence County Growth Council, Shance Sizemore added, “We are seeing activity and interest in manufacturing sites that could lead to more growth right here in Lawrence County. Our local manufacturers are reporting increased demand for products, and we believe this activity is a result of a healthy and growing economy that is providing a boost to the manufacturing sector overall–especially in our region.”

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.