2014 Business Outlook Survey Results

Business Economic Survey Your Target Market:□ Fargo-Moorhead □ Minnesota/ North Dakota□ Midwest□ Nationwide□ International Number of Employees:□ 1-4□ 5-19□ 20-99□ □ 500+ Business Type:□ Agriculture□ Mining□ Construction□ Manufacturing □ Transportation, Warehousing □ Wholesale Trade□ Retail Trade □ Finance, Insurance, Real Estate □ Business & Profess. Services□ Health Services □ Leisure/Hospitality□ Non Profit□ Other ___________ Business Classification: □ Business to Business □ Business to Consumer□ Both Changes in 2012 to 2013 & Expected Changes for 2014 Sales RevenueOperating Costs Capital ExpendituresProfitability Number of EmployeesCompensation Prices for Raw MaterialsPrices Received Business Segments ____ Surveys Sent ____ Surveys Responses ____ Response Rate

Type of Business

Business Segments

Business Changes from 2012 to 2013 DecreaseNo ChangeIncrease Diffusion Index* Diff. Index Sales Revenue18.7%11.6%69.7%51.0%61.8% Prices Received for Products/Services7.7%31.4%60.9%53.2%50.7% Prices Paid for Raw Materials2.6%35.5%61.9%59.3%69.5% Operating Costs as a % of Revenue14.9%16.9%68.2%53.3%48.3% Employee Compensation2.5%20.9%76.6%74.1%79.3% Capital Expenditures8.3%40.4%51.3%43.0%52.5% Profitability17.5% 65.0%47.5%50.7% Number of Employees7.6%48.1%44.3%36.7%37.9% * The Diffusion Index is the percentage of respondents reporting an increase minus the percentage reporting a decrease. A positive index indicates expanding activity, while a negative index indicates declining economic conditions.

Business changes

Percent of Businesses Reporting Large Changes from 2012 to 2013 (7 percent or more)

Factors Positively Affecting 2013 Performance

Top 5 Factors Positively Affecting Performance Rank A Strong State EconomyDomestic Sales Increase 2 A Strong State Economy 3Lower Operating Costs 4Technology Changes 5Political Stability

Top 5 Factors Negatively Affecting Performance Rank Higher Operating CostsStaffing Issues 2Domestic Sales ShortfallDomestic Competition 3 Higher Operating Costs 4OtherDomestic Sales Shortfall 5Staffing IssuesOther

Expectations of 2014 Performance

Factors Expected to Adversely Impact Business in Next 12 Months (average rank in parentheses)

Historical Unemployment Rate (source: ND Job Service)

Difficulty in Hiring Qualified Workers (average rank in parentheses)

Presentation slides available at: FMWFChamber.com starionfinancial.com ndsu.edu/mgmt_mrkt Special thanks to NDSU Department of Management and Marketing for assistance with survey collection and analysis