I have just begun blogging about the EMS industry from a marketing standpoint.  (This is my second post.)  So general predictions about the economy are not my bailiwick.  But I couldn’t help notice some really encouraging signs, not the least among them is the Chicago PMI (Purchasing Managers Index).  According to the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch on the penultimate day of 2009, there is good news:

Businesses in the Chicago region were expanding in December at their most rapid pace since January 2006, based on data from the Chicago PMI.

The business activity index rose to a higher-than-expected 60.0 percent from 56.1 percent in November.  The index had fallen to as low as 31.4 percent in January.

Is it time to let out a sigh of relief yet?

Not according to Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, who, in a recent New York Times column, warned that our economy is fragile. He says that upticks in the economy are often caused by an “inventory bounce.”  That is, when the economy slumps, companies find themselves with too much inventory.  When that’s finally depleted, they increase production, thus causing a bump that can often be a one-time bump.

But it’s a new year and a new decade, and right now, the Chicago area is enjoying a bit of a boost.  I’ll take it anyway we can get it.