By Brian G. Long, Ph.D, C.P.M. It may sound silly, but when I was four years old, I remember being terrorized by familiar song entitled “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” largely because of the punchline going “...when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all.” This was a clear case of [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. For well over nine years, our overall pattern of growth has been slow, punctuated by a few ups and downs. For West Michigan, September was strong, but October was even stronger. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of October 2018, NEW ORDERS, our index of [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. Last month, we returned to a pattern of slow growth. For September, the economic pace for West Michigan picked up a little more. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of September, NEW ORDERS, our closely-watched index of business improvement, edged up to +28 from +21. [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. After a modestly negative report last month, the West Michigan economy has returned to a normal pattern of slow growth. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of August, NEW ORDERS, our index of business improvement, came in at +21, up significantly from last month’s report [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. Tariffs have been threated for many months. Now that they are now actually being imposed, the West Michigan economy is beginning to feel the pinch. After 18 months of solid growth, NEW ORDERS, our closely-watched index of business improvement, has turned modestly negative at -3, down VERY sharply from [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. So far, so good. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of June, NEW ORDERS, our closely-watched index of business improvement, edged up to +33 from +30. in a similar move, the West Michigan PRODUCTION index rose to +39 from +37. Activity in the purchasing offices, [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. As we head toward the summer, the slow growth we have seen for most of the recovery has again turned into faster growth. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of May, NEW ORDERS, our index of business improvement, came it at +30, up slightly from [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D., C.P.M. The stronger-than-usual performance for the West Michigan economy has continued into the opening of the second quarter of 2018, although the pace slowed to some extent. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of April, NEW ORDERS, our closely-watched index of business improvement, retreated to +28 [...]
By Brian G. Long, Ph.D, C.P.M. For West Michigan, the first quarter of 2018 has started on a strong footing. According to the data collected in the last two weeks of March, NEW ORDERS, our index of business improvement, came in at +34, slightly better than last month’s +32. The West Michigan PRODUCTION index held [...]
Local economist Brian Long presented his annual economic report to the KGOP luncheon in March. Click here to view a PDF version of his presentation.