No good news in these three indicators
Add comment June 17th, 2009
Auto sales
The number of cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans registered with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office in April by Rock River Valley residents was down 26.4 percent from April 2008.
In real numbers, that equates to nearly 2,000 fewer vehicle sales year-over-year. That’s a ton of tax revenue not being collected and a ton of commissions not being paid.
The pain was felt the most by new car dealers. April registrations were down an amazing 51 percent. That means fewer than half as many new cars were sold in April 2009 as April 2008.
Sales tax
The slumping auto market feeds directly into another problem, declining sales tax revenue.
The amount of sales tax revenue being returned to area municipalities declined year-over-year — from $4 million in March 2008 to $3.6 million in March 2009, for the eighth straight month, causing budget holes of many municipalities to grow even deeper.
A small positive in the latest numbers was that revenue in Rockford declined only 4.2 percent. Despite growth in suburban shopping venues, Rockford remains by far the biggest retail draw in the Rock River Valley.
Rural areas suffered the most in March. Retail sales tax revenue was down more than 17 percent in Ogle County and 20.4 percent in Boone County.
Manufacturing employment
The estimate for the number of people working in manufacturing in April — 30,200 — in Boone and Winnebago counties in April fell 200 from March, marking the third straight month it has declined since January.
Compared to April 2008, manufacturing employment is down 9 percent. Much of that drop can be blamed on the fact the Chrysler assembly plant in Belvidere has either been closed or running at half capacity for much of the year.
Still, manufacturers ranging from Modern Metal in Loves Park and ABA of America in Cherry Valley to Hamilton Sundstrand either closed or announced layoffs in the months preceding April.
