Jacksonville’s manufacturing sector ended May with a flat foot, according to a UNF study

The manufacturing sector in the Jacksonville area remained relatively stable in May, although there was some deterioration in some key economic indicators.

Latest Jacksonville Economic Monitoring Study conducted monthly by the University of North Florida (UNF) showed a relatively solid picture of the production situation. However, there were areas that indicated a slight slowdown in May.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) hit just shy of 49 in May April figure from 50 UNF Coggin College of Business Interim Dean Albert Loh oversees a monthly production monitoring project and wrote in a survey report that things are relatively flat in the Jacksonville area heading into summer.

“Stable levels of production and employment had a positive impact on PMI, despite continuous job cuts. “Factors such as supplier deliveries and inventories remained stable or slightly lower, while prices continued to increase but at a slower pace, reflecting easing but persistent inflationary pressures,” the study concluded.

The First Coast study combines several factors to determine the scale of business trends in the manufacturing industry. The survey measures business performance, employment, orders, inventory, purchasing and prices.

Production in the Jacksonville area was one of the bright spots in the May analysis. The production received 52 points, although it was slightly less compared to the April result of 54.

Still, the UNF study found production levels to be encouraging, “while also signaling an expansion of manufacturing activity in the local economy. This means that a relative majority of companies participating in the Jacksonville Economic Monitoring Survey reported an increase in production compared to the previous month. This expansion could lead to increased employment opportunities and higher company revenues.”

Meanwhile, new manufacturing orders in the Jacksonville area declined slightly. The study shows that the number of new orders fell from 48 in April to 46 in May.

“This means that the vast majority of manufacturers participating in the JEMS survey recorded a decline in the number of new orders compared to the previous month. This decline may reflect declining demand in the local economy,” the report says.

While the manufacturing situation in Jacksonville remains unchanged, the report indicates that First Coast’s manufacturing sector is performing slightly better than the domestic market.

“The country report highlighted that U.S. manufacturing activity continues to decline after a brief surge in March, amid softening demand, stable production and adaptive inputs. In particular, new orders and backlogs declined further, while new export orders showed a marginal increase,” the UNF report said.

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Editor’s note: Drew Dixon writes development projects and website materials for the Coggin College of Business, but is not involved in the UNF Jacksonville Economic Monitoring Study.

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