The Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) has published the final edition of its Leading Index for Indiana (LII), a monthly evaluation of the state's economy. The IBRC, a research unit of the Kelley School of Business, developed the LII based on a number of national indices. The Center has decided to stop publishing it because it has found that interest rates, one of the five components of the Index, are no longer an adequate indicator of the overall economic situation given changing Federal Reserve System policies.

For October, the LII was set at 102.2 points, up just 0.1 from September. While interest rates remained virtually unchanged, the other four components all rose slightly, at a slower rate than in previous months. As this blog reported late last month, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed significant growth for the Midwest's manufacturing industry, another of the LII's components, in September, but still less than in August, and similar situations were reported in the other three drivers: auto components, home builder confidence and transportation and logistics.

As IBRC research director Timothy Slaper noted, August was a month of unexpectedly high growth in many economic sectors. For Slaper, the one area of concern is small business confidence, but organizations including the ISM and PricewaterhouseCoopers have shown that industry insiders are optimistic about the manufacturing sector's future, both in Indiana and nationwide.

Small business inventory management software can help small manufacturers overcome a still difficult situation by tracking job costs and assisting with every step of the manufacturing process, from inventory planning to sales and distribution.