News release from the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership:
Area reports significant growth in manufacturing Gross Domestic Product
Earlier this week the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released preliminary Gross Domestic Product information for metropolitan areas for 2010. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the Bureau’s most comprehensive measure of economic activity for a given geographic area. The data contains some very encouraging news for the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area. Total Real GDP (GDP adjusted for inflation) for all metropolitan areas in the United States increased by 2.5% between 2009 and 2010. The Fort Wayne metropolitan area (Allen, Wells and Whitley counties) Real GDP grew by 5.2% – more than double the rate experienced by the aggregate of all U.S. metropolitan areas. Total Real GDP in the Fort Wayne area is now almost exactly back to where it was in 2007 prior to the recession.
Growth in the manufacturing sector – a core driver of the local economy – was even more encouraging. Between 2009 and 2010, Real GDP in the manufacturing sector for the Fort Wayne metropolitan area grew by 23.1% – four times the rate of growth for all U.S. metropolitan areas (5.8% growth).
Manufacturing Real GDP in the Fort Wayne area now exceeds the 2007 pre-recession level.
There are 363 metropolitan areas in the country. Of these, 179 have manufacturing as a significant component of their economy. Only 42 of these 179 metro areas experienced positive GDP growth between 2007 and 2010 (from just prior to the recession to the most recent available data) – with the Fort Wayne metro area being one of the 42.
The IPFW Community Research Institute (CRI) provides ongoing comparisons of economic performance between the Fort Wayne metropolitan area and thirteen other metropolitan areas. Between 2007 and 2010, only the Fort Wayne metropolitan area sector experienced positive growth in the Real GDP of its manufacturing sector as illustrated in the following chart:
“These results are particularly encouraging as they pertain to the manufacturing sector. It’s what we do here, and just one of the things we do well. We fared especially well against the national average for Metro Manufacturing GDP, which was -7.2%,” said John Sampson, President and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.
John Stafford, Director of the IPFW Community Research Institute expressed a similar perspective “Given the importance of manufacturing to the regional economy, the strength of the rebound in this sector, as reflected in the GDP data, is particularly noteworthy. It was one of the highest percentage increases in the country over the past year.”
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis information on Gross Domestic Product for metropolitan areas can be found here. Additional information regarding the recently released Gross Domestic Product data and comparisons with other metropolitan areas can be found on the CRI website here.
About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership: Created in 2006, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to market the 10-county region and team with local economic development organizations (LEDOs) to bring new jobs and commercial investment to the area. The RP’s global marketing efforts are on behalf of LEDOs in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties.
About the Community Research Institute: The Community Research Institute is one of IPFW’s commitments at the Fort Wayne campus to the growth and development of Northeast Indiana. The Institute serves as one of the portals linking the expertise at IPFW with the needs of the public and non-profit sectors in Northeast Indiana by providing research and analytical support in the areas of socio-economic data, urban planning, municipal finance, public policy and economic development.
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