Expansion still on track

Utah's business conditions strengthened slightly in July, muscled forward by improvements in durable goods manufacturing and new orders.

The Utah Business Conditions Index climbed to 54.6 from June's 52. The index, prepared by the Creighton Economic Forecasting Group at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., measures business conditions in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming based on feedback from supply managers representing a cross-section of industries. An index reading above 50 indicates economic expansion.

Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing expanded for the 14th consecutive month in July, boosted by new orders and higher production, the national Institute for Supply Management said Monday.

The institute said its manufacturing index registered 62.0 last month, up from 61.1 in June. As with the Creighton index, an ISM index reading above 50 indicates growth. July's results were in line with the consensus forecast of analysts.

Shares ended the day higher on Wall Street as investors gave more weight to the latest economic news than heightened security concerns. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 39.45, or 0.4 percent, at 10,179.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.90, or 0.4 percent, to 1,106.62, while the Nasdaq composite index advanced 4.73, or 0.3 percent, to 1,892.09.

Thomas Duesterberg, president and chief executive of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI in Arlington, Va., called the report "pretty unabashedly positive."

Duesterberg said the report was further evidence "that the leadership of the economy is passing from the consumer and government side to the industrial side." The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI trade group expects overall economic growth of more than 4.5 percent at an annual rate in the second half of the year, up from 3 percent in the April-June quarter.

"Manufacturing will be an engine," Duesterberg said, projecting manufacturing growth of 7.1 percent in the third quarter and 7.8 percent in the fourth.

The Institute for Supply Management, which is based in Tempe, Ariz., said in its report that its new orders index registered 64.7 in July compared with 60.0 in June. The production index advanced to 66.1 last month compared with 63.2 the month before.

Employment, supplier deliveries and inventories all expanded more slowly in July than June, as did prices. The price index reading of 77.0 in July, compared with 81.0 in June, remained "an issue," the institute said.

"Energy prices remain a major concern for purchasers, as prices are at or near record highs," the institute said.