Survey: Jacksonville manufacturing still contracting, but improving (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Daily Record) — A monthly survey of Jacksonville manufacturers by the University of North Florida’s Local Economic Indicators Project showed a slight improvement in sentiment, but an economy that is still contracting.
UNF’s Jacksonville Economic Monitoring Survey of Northeast Florida manufacturing companies found eight of 12 indicators contracting in September for the second straight month.
Its overall purchasing managers index rose from 47.3 in August to 49.7 in September, but a number below 50 indicates a contraction in the economy.
“This uptick, though still below the 50 threshold, suggests that manufacturing activity in Jacksonville is gradually moving towards stabilization,” UNF economist Albert Loh said in his report on the monthly JEMS survey.
He said the Jacksonville index mirrored results from a national PMI from the Institute for Supply Management, which rose from 47.6 in August to 49 in September.
“There are bright spots and reasons for optimism in the Jacksonville area when digging deeper into the individual indices,” Loh said.
He pointed to the employment index, which was unchanged in September at 51.
“It shows that manufacturing companies in the area are neither reducing their workforce nor expanding rapidly, providing a degree of stability in the job market,” Loh said.
The business activity outlook index, reflecting manufacturers’ confidence going forward, fell from 53 in August to 50 in September, indicating the companies have a neutral outlook.
“This suggests that while they don’t anticipate robust growth, they also aren’t predicting a decline,” Loh said.
“Both the Jacksonville and national manufacturing landscape are showing signs of cautious optimism. Companies are managing outputs in line with the soft demand, but the month-over-month PMI improvement is a positive indicator,” he said.