KALAMAZOO, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 10, 2026) – Is the West Michigan industrial economy growing?
Apparently it is, according to the latest monthly survey of purchasing managers in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo markets by Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business, released earlier this week. The new orders index jumped 33 percent, reaching a level not seen in more than five years, while the production index rose by 21 points to its highest mark since August of 2021.
However, national trends are a cause for alarm, according to Dr. Brian Long, the college’s Director of Supply Management Research who conducts these monthly canvasses.
Employment and lead time indices were also sharply higher, and Long believes that strong customer demand has helped contribute to an improved outlook by his survey respondents.
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