The west Michigan economy has seen “a modest upturn” as the summer has begun. That’s the term Dr. Brian Long would use to describe the West Michigan economy at mid-year. The director of Supply Chain Management Research at Grand Valley State University, in his monthly survey of purchasing managers, said that all of of indices showed improvement in June after slipping a little in May.
“This month’s statistics came in a little bit stronger,” says Long. “We are back to that very slow pattern of growth that we’ve had for about the last seven years or so.”
New orders, production and employment all showed gains, while purchases slipped in his canvassing. Dr. Long felt the local office furniture industry remains stable while auto part suppliers continue to do well, although “there is a sense that the auto sales market is now starting to top out.”
