A survey of 41 Capital Region plant managers by the Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Alliance, released today, shows most expect hiring and spending to stabilize over the next six months after a long period of sustained growth.
GBRIA uses the survey results it collects every six months to compile an index score for the region, similar to the index reported by CEOs of The Business Roundtable. The current GBRIA index is 59—a 13-point drop from February’s index. The index ranges from negative 50 to 150, with any reading above 50 reflecting an expansion of the local economy and any reading below 50 as evidence of economic contraction.
Although the index score for plant production also dropped by 31 points since the spring to 52 in the latest survey, GBRIA Executive Director Connie Fabre says the score reflects steady production in addition to continued spending and hiring at local plants.
“The production index decrease actually means most companies reported no change to very strong production rates, so it’s actually good news,” Fabre says in a prepared statement, “and industry in the region still anticipates modest growth with several large project opportunities on the horizon beyond 2016.”
While 17% of the plant managers surveyed said they expect production to increase over the next six months, 68% expect no change and 15% expect a decrease. On hiring, 32% expect it to increase, 63% expect it to go unchanged and 5% expect it to decrease. That left the index score on hiring at 77. On spending over the next six months, 32% of managers said they believe it will increase, while 49% expect it to remain unchanged and 20% say it will likely decrease. That put the spending index at 62.
The index score for contract employees, however, decreased to 45—reflective of a contracting market—with just 20% of managers saying they expect to add contract workers in the next six months, while 56% expect no change and 24% anticipate reducing the number of contract workers on the payroll.
The top issues plant managers cited as having the largest affect on business are lower oil prices, traffic congestion, availability of skilled labor and challenging workforce quality. GBRIA represents 60 petrochemical, energy, paper, pharmaceutical, pipeline, storage terminal and other industrial plants in the eight-parish Capital Region.
—Steve Sanoski
