KALAMAZOO, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – It was a good start to 2018 for West Michigan businesses.
That’s according to Dr. Brian Long, the Director of Supply Management Research at Grand Valley State University, who conducts a monthly survey of purchasing managers in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo that comprises his report of the region’s economy. His polling indicted modest improvement in new orders, production, purchases and employment, part of which comes from the normal post-holiday resumption of normal schedules, and part comes from the bounce supplied by the passage of the federal tax reform package just before the start of the New Year.
“Those companies that supply capital equipment, t hey find that they have a ‘land office business’ at their door right now,” he explained. “They can’t hire enough people, they can’t expand quick enough to match the demand that they have.”
Dr. Long added that the current volatility on Wall Street shouldn’t be that much of a factor, for the stock market that “is now largely controlled by computers talking to computers” was overdue for a setback, but tangible threats such as a trade war or a military conflict could put a “more significant damper” on the overall economy.
