■ June 2013 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 9 PUBLISHER James P. Santori EXECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tim Krohn CONTRIBUTING Tim Krohn WRITERS Pete Steiner Rob Autry Kent Thiesse Marie Wood PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman John Cross COVER PHOTO Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING David Habrat MANAGER ADVERTISING sales Karla Marshall ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey CIRCULATION Denise Zernechel DIRECTOR
For editorial inquiries, call Tim Krohn at 507-344-6383. For advertising, call 344-6336, or e-mail kmarshall@mankatofreepress.com. MN Valley Business is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South 2nd Street., Mankato MN 56001.
■ Local Business memos/ Company news................................7 ■ Business and Industry trends.........9 ■ Minnesota Business updates....... 10 ■ Business Commentary................. 12 ■ Agriculture Outlook...................... 32 ■ Agribusiness trends..................... 33 ■ Job trends..................................... 34 ■ Construction, real estate trends.. 35 ■ Retail trends................................. 36 ■ Greater Mankato Growth.............. 38 ■ Greater Mankato Growth Member Activities ....................... 40
6 • june 2013 • MN Valley Business
From the editor
By Joe Spear
Autos drive economic indicators Listening to car dealers can offer economic insights
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nce a year we interview local have the maneuverability of cars but car dealers to get a feel for cargo capacity of some trucks seem their business and how to appeal to younger families. consumers are approaching one of And while minivans are still pretty the biggest purchases they will make. popular with a certain segment of But buying a vehicle is also one of buyers, they are not as popular as the most emotional purchases for they once were. People like the some. So car sales can be an indicator crossovers and the SUVs for their of general consumer optimism. space and their four wheel drive. The car business can be an People are buying cars in different interesting economic indicator for a ways now too. They are using the local economy. Vehicles are known in Internet to research pricing, economic parlance as “durable availability and color. goods” an indicator of an item that is Looking forward, some dealers see used over time and is a bigger ticket a trend in the smartphone generation item. that won’t be coveting certain brands It’s also, short of buying a house, of autos like their parents probably one of the biggest investments people did. They may even create a “sharing will make. car” trend. So strong S o, the automobile sales Mankato auto indicate a bigger business appears Vehicles sales tend to number of people to be pretty feel pretty good healthy. With the follow housing and about their job, coming of some the economy the new dealers and construction, two future and are good expansions willing to part of existing sectors that also appear with a significant dealers, there to be doing fairly well amount of cash. appear to be Mankato auto plenty of buyers in the region. sales were up to go around. about 8 percent That bodes from 2011 to well for other 2012, according parts of the to local statistics that track auto Mankato economy as well. Vehicles dealers located in Mankato. That’s sales tend to follow housing and short of the 30 percent growth construction, two sectors that also statewide, but local dealers note that appear to be doing fairly well in the Mankato turned the corner on sales region. before the rest of the state with a The diversified economy tends to good year from 2010 to 2011. keep the boats of auto dealers rising, So what are the Mankato area auto not to mention sales of a lot of other consumers thinking these days? durable goods. Education and Trucks, for one thing, lots of trucks. medical remain large and stable Pickup trucks have always been employers and with the popular in rural areas, but it was announcement of the new Wal-Mart surprising to hear more trucks are distribution center coming on line in bought in Minnesota than cars – 2015, growth will likely continue. MV about 55 percent to 45 percent, according to statewide data from the Joe Spear is executive editor of Minnesota Auto Dealers Association. Minnesota Valley Business. People are also tending to move Contact him at 344-6382 or toward the crossover vehicles local jspear@mankatofreepress.com dealers note. These vehicles that
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