The economic forecast for the Greater Peoria area is “cautiously optimistic,” according to Moody’s most recent State of Illinois Economic Forecast report.
The report anticipates a global construction boon will continue to drive demand for heavy machinery. Singling out Caterpillar, Moody’s said this demand will benefit Greater Peoria’s overall manufacturing sector.
Chris Setti is the CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. He said “cautiously optimistic" is a good phrase to use this early in 2022, noting Caterpillar is affected by ongoing supply chain issues.
“You may have ‘unbridled growth’ that's actually bridled by labor shortages and supply chain issues,” he said. “And so that's kind of what makes everything a little bit more, I think, ‘cautiously optimistic.’”
Setti also noted that Caterpillar is sensitive to global markets; the company’s stock took a hit following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the Greater Peoria economy is always going to be dependent on manufacturing, Setti said the economy is steadily diversifying. And that’s a good thing.
“We've got investments being made by OSF in the Cancer research center, by Unity Point, especially in the behavioral health side of things. So we continue to see that grow,” Setti said. “And it makes it all the more important that we continue to [support] smaller, medium-sized, scalable companies. Like Natural Fiber Welding and VirtuSense and Bump Boxes and AutonomouStuff. And all of those great things that we have in our community.”
Caterpillar has been supportive of the EDC’s economic diversity efforts, Setti said.
“Even their own suppliers, they don't want to just be Caterpillar suppliers, because they want those suppliers to be around,” he said. “To be able to survive low points in the Caterpillar buying cycle.”
The Moody’s report outlined some areas in which Peoria struggled in 2021.
Though healthcare employment is “higher than before the emergence of COVID-19,” the industry lost most of its gains from earlier in the year.
The leisure and hospitality industries saw late-2021 job losses, potentially driven by the COVID-19 Delta variant.
Looking ahead in 2022, Moody’s anticipates Peoria job growth will be “relatively weak.”
Read the full report here.
