Recession not over for Ga. factories

Savannah NOW

Georgia's factories continue to struggle but with faint signs of a near-term improvement, according to an economic survey released this week.

"It's kind of leveled off," said Bert Tennenbaum, president of Chatham Steel Corp. in Savannah. "It's my opinion that we've bottomed out already. We're just kind of rocking along it."

That's also the impression provided by other factory executives in the Georgia Purchasing Managers Index, which fell in June for the second month in a row. The index, compiled by the Econometric Center at Kennesaw State University, dropped 3.7 points from May to 44.3. A reading below 50 generally points to recession.

The national index registered 44.8 in June, its 17th month in recession territory, though its fall is slowing, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

"As far as the manufacturing sector, I think we've seen the worse back in November-December. At least that's what our survey is showing," said Don Sabbarese? director of Kennesaw's Econometric Center. "We're seeing a gradual improvement."

Companies here aren't working their crews longer hours or adding employees yet because they are skittish about ramping up production, he said. Executives see so many signs of concern and few rays of hope that they are quick to pull back on bad news, which is why the index declined after a brief upward trend.

"I just think there is so much uncertainty in the market for these firms, not only in the markets but in the economy," Sabbarese said. "Their planning is so short term."

(Also: Georgia Economic Indicator Shows Distant Recovery, WABE; Georgia factory problems level off, Florida Times-Union.)