The newly released 2011 Indiana Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card contains largely good news for the state… and, looking forward, also predict a “record year” in manufacturing.
“Overall, Im pretty happy about whats happened in Indiana last year and is likely to continue over the next year or two,” says Michael Hicks, director of Ball State Universitys Center for Business and Economic Research and author of the report. “This is a really important time for Indiana to be doing well in manufacturing, because theres so much slack in the economy and such pent up demand for new business expansion.”
Indiana earned an “A” in both manufacturing industry health and logistics industry health, reflecting the size and growth of the sectors. Indiana ranks second among all states in per capita manufacturing jobs and ninth in logistics employment. Hicks says the report card also highlights Indianas “dramatic” recovery from the recession.”
Here in Indiana, manufacturing employment has grown by 4.6 percent—a remarkable difference for Indiana that has not been experienced nationwide,” says Hicks.
Indianas “A” in overall tax climate—the only Midwest state to earn the score—Hicks believes Indiana is poised for an upcoming “record year,” leading to an even better report card in 2012. “Indiana is a big exporter—particularly of those things that our foreign trading partners are interested in buying,” says Hicks. “It just really looks like a very strong year for us. My models, and those of others, all predict this to be a record manufacturing year—not only for Indiana, but for the country as a whole.”
