GRAND RAPIDS – After driving the West Michigan economy for several years, the manufacturing sector has reached a holding pattern of flat growth that has economists on the lookout for the next downturn in the business cycle.
In general, economists in the region note that weaker-than-expected sales of passenger vehicles in the automotive industry have resulted in the flattening of the manufacturing sector, while depressed energy prices continue to hold down the boom-and-bust oil and gas industry.
“Really what we’ve been looking at overall in West Michigan is over the last 18 months, the different measures we have of manufacturing have been cycling down,” said Paul Isely, associate dean at the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. “Individual months can come up, but overall we’re seeing it cycle down.”
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