OMAHA, Neb. — Soaring numbers in a monthly survey of business supply managers suggest economic conditions are improving in nine Midwest and Plains states including Arkansas.
The Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Tuesday says the overall economic index for the region jumped to 53.1 in December from 46.5 in November. The October figure was 43.8.
Arkansas' overall index rose to 53.7 in December from 47.7 in November. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.
"The Arkansas economy will continue to expand for the first half of 2017," Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said. "However, that growth will be below the regional and national averages. Economic slowdowns among the state's major trading partners and a strong U.S. dollar have restrained Arkansas food exports since 2012. Since peaking of $828 million in 2012, Arkansas food exports have fallen to less than $600 million for 2016,"
Goss, who oversees the survey, and he says the December and November increases point to an improving regional manufacturing economy.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.