- For a 16th straight month, the Rural Mainstreet Index remained below growth neutral though the index advanced to its highest level since June 2016.
- Farmland prices declined for the 37th straight month.
- Bank CEOs expect loan defaults to rise by 5.6 percent over the next 12 months. This estimate is up slightly from 5.4 percent recorded in July of this year.
- Bankers expect holiday sales for Rural Mainstreet retailers to expand by a scant 0.4 percent over 2015 levels.
- States with December Rural Mainstreet expansions: Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota; States with December Rural Mainstreet contractions: Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota and Wyoming, and Minnesota.
OMAHA, Neb. (Dec. 15, 2016) – The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index remained weak with a reading below growth neutral for the 16th straight month, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
Overall: The index, which ranges between 0 and 100 rose to 42.9, its highest level since June of this year, and up from November’s 36.6.
“Weak farm commodity prices continue to slam Rural Mainstreet economies. Over the past 12 months, livestock commodity prices have tumbled by 19.0 percent and grain commodity prices have slumped by 11.5 percent. The economic fallout from this price weakness continues to push growth into negative territory for seven of the 10 states in the region,” said Ernie Goss, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University's Heider College of Business.
States trending higher: Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota; States trending lower: Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wyoming.