KALAMAZOO, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 9, 2025) – The regional economy is reflective of the current national economic uncertainty.
That’s a conclusion one could make from the most recent West Michigan Current Business Trends report from the Institute for Supply Management. It showed that the new orders index for June of 2025 rose by 50 percent from the previous month to +21, a three-year-high, while the production index doubled to +28. Employment stayed steady, and lead times fell from +18 to +4.
Dr. Brian Long, director of Supply Chain Management Research for the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University, canvasses purchasing managers in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas on a monthly basis. He says that respondents seem to be taking the turmoil of the tariff wars in stride, partially based on experience gained by supply disruptions during the COVID 19 outbreak of five years ago.
Long adds that, over the last eight decades, the US has experienced a recession on an average of every six years, and that trend would indicate that another slowdown could be looming in 2026. A link to this and other West Michigan Current Business Trends reports is here.
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