AS WE HEAD INTO THE FINAL TWO MONTHS OF 2024, TYPICALLY THE BUSIEST FOR MANY RETAILERS, A SURVEY OF MIDWEST BUSINESS LEADERS POINTS TO A LOOMING ECONOMIC DOWNTURN.
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST ERNIE GOSS SAYS THE ECONOMY’S BUSINESS CONDITIONS HAVE NOT BEEN STABLE THROUGH THE YEAR:
GOSS5 OC…AS WELL. :18
HIS INDEX GRADES THE REGION’S ECONOMY ON A ZERO-TO-100 SCALE, WITH 50 BEING GROWTH NEUTRAL.
GOSS SAYS SUPPLY MANAGERS REMAIN PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, WITH MANY EXPECTING A RECESSION, OR A SHARP DROPOFF IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
GOSS6 OC…FIVE MONTHS” :20
THE CREIGHTON SURVEY FOUND FOUR IN TEN MIDWESTERN SUPPLY MANAGERS NAMED SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AS THE TOP CHALLENGE TO THEIR FIRM OVER THE NEXT YEAR, AND GOSS SAYS INTEREST RATES ARE ALSO A KEY FACTOR.
GOSS7 OC…….”HOME SALES” :22
THE LATEST U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION DATA FINDS IOWA’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR SAW A DROP IN 2024 YEAR-TO-DATE EXPORTS OF 954-MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE SAME PERIOD IN 2023, A DROP OF MORE THAN EIGHT-PERCENT.
