The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 56.0 from 55.6 in March, marking the third consecutive month above growth neutral. The index, which tracks business conditions across a nine-state region including Iowa, points to improving growth in manufacturing and the overall economy.

The index ranges between 0 and 100, with 50.0 representing growth neutral.

“Creighton’s latest survey indicates that the regional manufacturing sector continues to improve, albeit slowly but steadily, with manufacturing jobs added for the second straight month,” Ernie Goss, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group and the Jack A. MacAllister chair in regional economics, said in a news release. 

In Iowa, the state’s index for April dropped to 51.0 from 58.6 in March. Iowa ranked sixth in the nine-state region, with Missouri recording a regional-high 65.6 and Nebraska a regional-low 46.4. 

New orders in Iowa dropped to 55.0 from 60.5 the previous month, and production declined to 52.8 from 58.6. Iowa’s delivery lead time, however, improved slightly to 58.1 from 58.0.

The overall regional employment index slipped to 50.2 from 50.7 in March, marking the first time since early 2025 that the survey has recorded manufacturing job gains for two consecutive months. However, over the past 12 months, the region’s manufacturing sector shed 18,600 jobs for a loss of 1.0% of its manufacturing base, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Iowa, the employment index dropped to 45.2 from 60.2 in March.

The regional inventory index, reflecting levels of raw materials and supplies, slipped to 49.0 from 52.4 in March. Inventories in Iowa were at 44.0, down from 56.0 in March. 

The April price gauge climbed to 75.6, its highest level in two years and up from March’s 69.4.

“The Creighton regional price gauge and the national ISM wholesale price index are elevated and undermine any chance of rate cuts at the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee’s next meetings on June 16-17, and beyond in my judgment,” Goss said.

The April confidence index plummeted to 36.7 from 53.2 in March.

“I expect rising energy prices, along with supply chain disruptions, to push the confidence index even lower in the coming months,” Goss said.

New export orders rose to 49.6 from 48.6 in March. As a result of supply bottlenecks and higher input prices, supply managers pulled back on purchasing from abroad in the last 12 months. The April import index fell to 44.6 from 46.4 in March. 

Other regional survey components included new orders declining to 60.0 from 60.2 in March; the production index remained at 57.8 in April; and the speed of deliveries of raw materials and supplies improved to 63.1 from March’s 56.9.

The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group has conducted the monthly survey of supply managers in nine states since 1994 to produce economic indicators of the Mid-America economy. States included in the survey are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.