Moderation. That's the latest word on the greater Grand Rapids economy, according to the data collected in the last two weeks of November. New orders, our index of business improvement, backtracked to +10 from +36. In a similar move, the production index remained positive, but eased to +16 from last month's +29. Activity in the purchasing offices came in at +10, down from +21. It was disappointing to see the index of employment slide to -5, down from +17. All in all, most of our statistics continue to be positive, but the pace has clearly slowed. Since we are now in our eighth month of the current recovery, it is not surprising to see a month of moderation. Although this trend may continue into December, the beginning of 2010 still looks positive. |