CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The latest Mountain State Business Index, produced by the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research, shows “good, stable broad-based growth,” according to director John Deskins.
“It’s saying the growth in the Index is good growth,” Deskins said Monday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “It’s consistent growth and broad-based growth.”
Six of the seven indicators in the Index, which showed an overall growth of 2.9 percent, were improving in the latest Index released late last week.
Part of the growth is in the area of coal exports, but Deskins cautions against anyone thinking that coal is on its way back to where it was in 2008 when the state produced 158 million tons.
“Most of the optimism comes from simply the fact that we’ve hit bottom and we are growing again, but we aren’t bouncing back to where we were in 2008. We are a long way from that,” Deskins said.
The eight-year decline was based on the growth of the natural gas industry, regulatory pressure and a weak export market. Deskins expects the 2016 coal production numbers, which should be finalized in the next few days, will be close to 80 million tons. He said a rebound above the 100 million ton mark is probably overly optimistic in the years to come.
The Business Index continues to show a great diversity among regions of the state. The Morgantown-area, eastern panhandle and some western counties are showing strong growth while some southern counties remain in Depression-like economic conditions, Deskins said.
But, according to Deskins, at least the Index has shown some growth since last summer.
“Any growth at all is better than further declines. This growth is enough to get people paying attention but it’s a growth that’s still modest in the big picture perspective,” Deskins said.