Surge of Orders Aids Manufacturing Index

Bolstered by a surge of new orders that should keep factories humming into the summer, manufacturers in Orange County were fatter and happier than their national counterparts during the first quarter, Chapman University economist Raymond Sfeir says.

Sfeir conducts a quarterly survey of conditions in the county’s manufacturing sector and compiles an index that measures growth and serves as a pretty reliable indicator of where things are heading.

For the first quarter, the index rose to 64.7, a strong 2.9-point gain from the fourth quarter and way above the 55.6 recorded a year earlier. Index levels above 50 chart growth while those below 50 track declining manufacturing activity.

A similar national index by the National Purchasing Managers Assn. shows that manufacturing in the rest of the country also is growing, but at a more modest pace. The first quarter reading was 53.4, up 1.1 points from the fourth quarter.

Sfeir says he’s not sure why manufacturing performance in Orange County continually outpaces the national norm--that’s the subject of a future study. But based on comments from the more than 100 manufacturers who regularly participate in his survey, he figures it has a lot do with the fact that most local manufacturers market their goods all over the world. Also, he says, manufacturers here tend to be pretty cutting edge. Transportation equipment, scientific instruments, computer hardware and medical products top the list of goods made in Orange County. And those products are in high demand.

John O’Dell covers major Orange County corporations and manufacturing for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com