Did Manufacturing Decline in Every State Lead to Postponement of Tariffs?
Ball State University economist Michael Hicks recently discussed his latest manufacturing and logistics report for all 50 states.
The 2019 Manufacturing Scorecard from Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) analyzes how each state ranks among its peers in several areas of the economy that underlie the success of manufacturing and logistics. Dr. Hicks is both a professor at the University and the Director of the Center.
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The study looks at many specific areas, including manufacturing and logistics industry health, human capital, cost of worker benefits, diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation, expected fiscal liability, tax climate, and global reach.
Hicks believes strongly that the U.S. and world economies are slowing down. The world economy is interdependent, and the slowdown on one economy affects others, creating a global impact. In addition, there is more than a slow down among these countries, but policies that have that type of affect on one another. They are policies of contraction rather than growth.
“We are in a pre-recession or end of business cycle environment,” he said. “Industrial production is down over the first six months of 2019. Manufacturing employment in many states is taking a downturn. Nationally, it is holding steady but there is retrenchment, particularly in sectors dealing with exports, transportation and equipment.”
America’s spat with China has led to several rounds of costly tariffs, hurting U.S. manufacturers, said Hicks, director of the Center for Business Economic Research at Ball State. This policies are also hitting consumers hard as the cost of tariffs are passed on to buyers.
“Now, the trade war is broadening from China to Canada, Mexico and India,” he said. “As a result of new tariffs, we are seeing rising prices for parts made for vehicles, slowing demand. We set that clearly in northern Indiana, which is home to most of the nation’s RV manufacturers. Higher prices are dampening demand for many of these high-end products.
The trade war is slowly chipping away at what has been a very long period of economic expansion, Hicks noted.
Learn more about the Manufacturing Scorecard project to view the performance history for each state and an archive of past reports with insight into the manufacturing industry: mfgscorecard.cberdata.org
According to a statement, “Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State is one of Indiana’s premier universities and an economic driver for the state. Ball State’s nearly 22,000 students come from all over Indiana, the nation, and the world, and its 780-acre campus is large enough to accommodate premier facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports but small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention, and access that are the hallmarks of the University.”
