BATON ROUGE, LA – Feb. 1, 2019: The Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, Inc. (GBRIA)’s survey of its members shows significant increases in expected capital expenditures and moderate increases in both company and contract employment for industry in the next six months. Production levels are mostly expected to remain level. The association comprises 60 petrochemical, paper, pharmaceutical, storage terminal and other industrial facilities located in seven parishes around Baton Rouge. The survey is a forward looking index similar to an index the CEO’s of The Business Roundtable report. Plant managers of 29 sites, or 48 percent of GBRIA members, weighed in on what they believe the next six months hold for their plants. The current GBRIA index result is 82, an increase from 2018’s results.
| 2019 First Quarter Forecast | ||||
| Question | Increase | No Change | Decrease | Index |
| How do you expect your plant’s production to change in the next 6 months? | 31% | 62% | 7% | 74 |
| How do you expect your company’s capital expenditures to change at your plant in the next 6 months? | 59% | 28% | 14% | 95 |
| How do you expect your plant’s COMPANY employment to change in the next 6 months? | 34% | 62% | 3% | 81 |
| How do you expect your company’s CONTRACT employment to change in the next 6 months? | 31% | 59% | 10% | 71 |
| 1st Quarter 2019 GBRIA Economic Index | 82 |
The Index value is calculated as a diffusion index centered on 50 and ranges from negative 50 to positive 150. Values over 50 predict an expanding economy and values below 50, a contracting economy.
End of Statement