Tariffs and prices are on the minds of average American consumers, but also employers and manufactures. A new economic report says say it’s a mixed bag for the Midwest, so far.
The Mid-America Business Conditions Index declined on the back of lost jobs and wholesale price rises, however growth remained above .5, or neutral.
Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss compiles the monthly report.
"The overall index was down a bit but still in growth-positive territory, unlike the US number that came out (Thursday) morning, which was below growth neutral," Goss said. "Things are moving along, but what I think happened was a lot of front-loading of what would have happened in future months, happened in April and March. I’m concerned about the months going ahead.”
Goss said there’s only one policy to blame for the current state of economic worry.
“The uncertainty surrounding tariffs, the imports that would have occurred in July and June are now occurring in April and March," Goss said. "What is going to happen at the national level, that tariff war with China, it looks like it’s going to continue for some time.”
On the other hand, Goss said he expects the presidents tariff war with other major American trading partners, namely Mexico and Canada, to be abbreviated.
All that boils down to more financial trouble for Americans.
“What they’re going to see is higher prices," Goss said. "For the month of April we saw the pricing increases again at the wholesale level, and that’s going to continue. As long as we see these supply chain disruptions, as long as we see the tariffs going up, that’s going to spill over into wholesale prices, and then on to consumer prices.”
The study covers a nine-state region stretching from the Dakotas down to Oklahoma and Arkansas.