LANSING ? Twenty-four percent of small business owners said they increased major investments in plant and equipment this past spring ? the highest percentage reporting increases since 1999, according to the Small Business Association of Michigan?s quarterly Small Business Barometer survey, reversing a long investment downturn that began in 2000.
In the previous quarter, only 13 percent reported investment increases.
?This result actually flies in the face of the otherwise gloomy economic indicators in our latest survey,? said SBAM Vice President Communications Michael Rogers. ?Perhaps small business owners are seeing something in the tea leaves that tells them that investing more in plant and equipment is a good business decision. Perhaps they are hoping that the legislature and the governor will enact meaningful small business tax reform this fall and make their investments pay off.?
A clue to small business owners? investment behavior may also come from the results of a Barometer question on the accessibility of credit. Fifty-nine percent of respondents gave a positive rating to accessibility, compared to an 11-year average rating of 56 percent.
The quarterly Barometer survey is sponsored by SBAM with the participation and support of the Center for Urban Studies of Wayne State University. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Associates of Lansing.
