Manufacturing Falls for 10th Straight Month in Nation’s Heartland

A critical part of the rural economy – manufacturing – has continued the slide that began in 2025 and has stretched into 2026, according to Creighton University economist, Dr. Ernie Goss.

Goss, who has held his position for 34 years, helps conduct a monthly survey of supply managers to measure the economy in nine states: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

The manufacturing sector got some recent relief, Goss said in a video announcing the survey results. 

“It’s clear that inflationary pressures are coming down. It’s the lowest inflation rate we’ve recorded since December of 2024,” Goss said.

Manufacturing Sector Struggling from Tariffs

But those slight reductions can’t make up for the greater pressure weighing down the industry. “…the ‘tariff tantrums’ I’ll call it,” Goss said.

“…When the president (Donald Trump) gets out there and says: ‘Well, I’m going to put a tariff here and a tariff there,’ that’s not good for the economy,” Goss said.

The survey also laid out a challenge that has troubled parts of rural America far longer than recent tariffs:

“U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data show that the nine-state region has lost more than 333,000 manufacturing jobs, or roughly 20% of its manufacturing employment base, over the past 25 years.”

RELATED: Following the presidential election in 2024, Dr. Goss wondered (hoped?) that candidate Donald Trump’s talk of higher tariffs could be just a negotiating bluff. Here’s what he told American Farmland Owner.