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GVSU economist says West Michigan economy should remain strong heading into 2018

Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University
gvsu.edu

West Michigan’s economy continued its positive growth pattern in September. WGVU breaks down the numbers in the recent Supply Management Research survey.

“This trend has continued through September and it appears right now to probably continue through the fall and possibly even into the next year.” That’s Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. He explains there are two areas of strength. The first is a rebound in auto sales both new and used.

“The hurricanes resulted in somewhere around a million and two million cars being water-damaged. The auto dealers in the south have been coming up to our used car auctions to buy cars for their inventory because the people down there down want any of those cars that sat on their lots that got flooded.” Auto parts suppliers remaining busy along with area office furniture makers along with a rebounding world economy is fueling optimism.

“We were worried about a collapse of the Euro itself and we were worries about China because the sales in China were starting to slide for the first time in almost 30 years but Japan has come back, China has stabilized, but it is really Europe that is on a roll right now.”

The Institute for Supply Management surveys 75 purchasing managers from greater Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

Patrick Center, WGVU News.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.