Utah business climate rebounds sharply

Utah's business climate rebounded strongly in November after slipping in early autumn, according to a monthly survey by the Creighton Economic Forecasting Group at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

Utah's overall index of supply managers and business leaders rose to 58.5 in November, up from September's 56.9 and October's 53.3.

The Business Conditions Index ranges from zero to 100, with a figure higher than 50 indicating a growing economy over the next three to six months. The Creighton group uses the same methodology as the Institute for Supply Management, which gauges national business conditions.

The institute said Tuesday that manufacturing activity nationwide expanded in November for the 18th straight month, and the rate of growth was faster than economists had been expecting, suggesting that the industrial sector would end the year on a high note.

The ISM said its main index for measuring industrial activity rose to 57.8 in November, a full point above October's level. Analysts had been expecting a reading of 57. The index has been above 50 since June of last year.

Back on a state level, components in Creighton's Utah figure included 62.5 for new orders, 57 for production, 56.3 for delivery speed, 43.8 for inventories, 60.2 for employment and 50 for both new export orders and imports.

"Durable goods manufacturers in Utah, especially transportation equipment manufacturers, reported healthy increases in new orders and hiring for November," said Creighton economics professor Ernie Goss, who leads the Creighton forecasting group, in a prepared statement.

"Utah has gained almost 28,000 jobs for a 2.6 percent increase this year. Based on our monthly survey, the pace of these gains will continue through quarter one of 2005."

For the three-state Mountain area that comprises Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, the overall index for November was 60.6, up from October's 59.4. It was bolstered by new orders at 71.2 and production at 64.8.

"Slight declines in prices for energy-related products led to a decrease in the prices-paid index to 79.6, from October's 83.3," Goss said. "However, the index, which has been above 70 for 12 consecutive months, continues to indicate significant inflationary pressures at the wholesale level."

The employment index for the three-state area was 53.7 in November. Colorado's overall index was 76.1 for November, compared with 54.8 for October. Wyoming's figure fell from 63.6 to 52.3 during the same period.