The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), an agency within the United States Department of Commerce, has published a study detailing quarterly economic growth by state. The results placed Indiana eighth nationwide, well ahead of the national average, in the fourth quarter of 2013. In that quarter, the state's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.2 percent, good for eighth place behind leaders North Dakota and Wyoming, whose GDPs grew 8.4 percent each.

The report also reveals that Indiana's total GDP of $294 billion made it the 16th biggest economy in the United States after growing 2.1 percent for the entire year, compared to the USA's 1.8 percent improvement. Also detailed are the sectors that contributed the most, and least, to that growth, with manufacturing leading the way, as a Ball State University study highlighted and this blog noted last month.

The manufacturing sector contributes 30.4 percent of the state's GDP, a much higher proportion than the national average, which sits at just 13 percent. Indiana's manufacturing generated $90.5 billion in 2013. In a very distant second place is the real estate market, including leasing and renting, which represents 9.7 percent of Indiana's GDP, followed by government (9 percent), health care and social assistance (7.7 percent) and retail trade (5.8 percent).

In this economic climate, the implementation of manufacturing business software can help a company grow in what is clearly a very competitive sector and one where enterprises can use all the help they can get, but also one that, in Indiana's case, is rife with opportunity. Business management software solutions are readily available to companies looking to set themselves apart from the crowd.

The BEA, which until now only published yearly reports, now intends to make quarterly studies the norm.