If the economy were a road, it's one that in recent years has been full of potholes, hairpin turns and unexpected roadblocks.
But for Hoosier manufacturers, the road appears to be smoothing out and getting a lot less scary for its travelers.
"We're seeing rays of hope, starting to see employment gains rather than the losses that have occurred," said Brian Burton, vice president of the Indiana Manufacturers Association.
The number of Hoosiers working in manufacturing reached a 10-year low of 425,700 in June 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Especially hard-hit, Burton said, were the vehicle industry, especially recreational vehicles, and makers of home products, a category that includes everything from appliances to steel, wiring and plastics.
Things have been improving since then. In January, Indiana had 430,700 manufacturing jobs. That number climbed to 447,300 in July before dropping slightly to a preliminary figure of 443,200 in August. And each month since May, the number of manufacturing jobs has shown year-over-year increases.
The health of manufacturing is especially important in Indiana because this is such a manufacturing-heavy state.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, manufacturing represented 25 percent of Indiana's economy in 2008 — the highest percentage of any state in the U.S.
That 25 percent works out to $63.8 billion.
And when you include both direct and indirect jobs, manufacturing represents about 60 percent of the Hoosier economy, said Burton. Direct jobs, Burton said, are jobs directly involved in manufacturing. Indirect jobs are those that serve the manufacturing industry — jobs ranging from maintenance to accounting to legal work.
Here's a snapshot of how some manufacturers around the Tri-State weathered the recession and what things look like for them now:
Toyota
Toyota started hitting the brakes at its Princeton plant even before the recession officially hit.
In order to handle the ups and downs of production demand, Toyota uses an outside staffing agency to provide it with temporary workers as a supplement to Toyota's permanent employees.
In 2007, Toyota let go of about 370 temporary workers. And as recently as last October, the plant had no temporary workers at all.
In 2008, the plant shut down production for weeks at a time because demand for vehicles was so low.
Recently, though, things have started picking up for Toyota.
In June, Toyota transferred some of its Highlander SUV production from Japan to Princeton. Orders from Toyota dealers have also increased. "We've been working a lot of overtime and production Saturdays for the past few months to keep up with demand for vehicles," said Toyota spokeswoman Kelly Dillon.
Toyota has hired both temporary and permanent employees to help handle the increased production.
The automaker has added 600 temporary workers through staffing agency Aerotek. In September, it moved 32 temporary workers to permanent status — the first hiring at Toyota since 2006.
"These are all good signs that things are improving," Dillon said.
Flanders Electric
Evansville-based Flanders Electric said it wasn't really hit by the recession until this year.
The company does repair and manufacturing for heavy industrial electric motors. It employs about 660 workers worldwide, including 350 in Evansville.
Based on orders it had booked in 2008 Flanders had a record year in 2009, said Joe Patterson, Flanders' director of motor engineering and manufacturing.
Things changed this year.
"The first two quarters of 2010 were way down over 2009. We were starting to get a little anxious about the lack of orders coming in," Patterson said.
Business slowed down, Patterson said because Flanders' customers — especially in the steel and aluminum industries — canceled or delayed their orders.
The company avoided layoffs, Patterson said, but it did have voluntary furloughs. Other employees tackled special projects to stay busy at work until business picked up.
Diversification helped Flanders weather the storm, Patterson said. Flanders' customers represent a variety of industries, and about 80 percent of the company's sales are international.
Orders are picking up again, Patterson said, and Flanders predicts a strong fourth quarter.
One lingering effect of the recession, Patterson said: Banks are more cautious than they used to be about extending credit to customers.
Patterson said Flanders still has been able to get the money it needs, but the process involves more paperwork and documentation than it used to.
"It's been, I don't want to say a headache, but it's a little bit more work than it used to be," Patterson said.
Anchor Industries
One of the big issues that Anchor Industries struggled with last year was how to reduce its staffing levels without decimating the company.
The Evansville company makes tents, awnings, pool covers and other products.
Anchor realized it had to reduce its work force because the company's revenue dropped by more than a third last year, said Chief Financial Officer Dave Conner.
But at the same time, the company wanted to avoid mass layoffs.
"You have to show that you're committed to your team in good times and in bad," Conner said.
In facing these tough decisions, Conner drew support from the Tri-State Manufacturers' Alliance, a group formed in June 2009. The group, which includes nearly 80 member companies, operates under the umbrella of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana. Some alliance members participate in small groups that meet regularly to discuss specific issues.
Toyota is also part of the alliance, and Conner said the vehicle maker's philosophy about employment helped inspire Anchor's approach to its staffing issues.
Toyota supplements its regular work force with temporary workers so that it can avoid laying off employees during slow times.
Anchor couldn't follow that model entirely, Conner said, but it decided it could, as much as possible, take a no-layoff approach to reducing its work force.
Anchor decided to offer early retirement packages. As a result, the company brought its production work force from 280 to 206 by the end of September 2009. A few people were laid off, Conner said, but most of the reductions came through retirement or attrition.
Anchor's bottom line has improved since last year, Conner said. The company is operating in the black again, and revenue is up 20 percent over last year. The company has done some hiring, and as of the end of September its production work force was up to 219.
But Anchor's business is not back to prerecession levels, and Conner said he sees "a lot of nervousness" among manufacturers.
"I think everybody in general — local manufacturers — are concerned about, 'How strong is this rebound going to be?'"
The Indiana Manufacturers' Association's Burton said he's noticed the same attitude statewide.
Even as the economy improves, Burton said, companies are reluctant to invest. This reluctance, he said, is especially pronounced in the manufacturing industry because investments in this industry — a new production line, for instance — tend to require more capital than in other industries.
Economy aside, Burton said some recent actions by the federal government also are contributing to business owners' uncertainty.
Factors including increased government regulation, federal health-care reform, increased taxes and cap and trade are all contributing factors, he said.
"Employers are apprehensive about investment at this point ... without a clear understanding of what their business costs will be."
Some manufacturers, though, are choosing to forge ahead.
One example of this is General Electric. Last week, the company announced it was investing $432 million at four of its U.S. refrigeration plants, creating what it calls "centers of excellence" that will add 500 new jobs by 2014.
One of those plants, in Bloomington, Ind., had been slated for closure in 2008, said GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman. But instead of closing, employees worked to keep the plant open. Workers agreed to a salary freeze, and to establishing a lower pay scale for new hires. In return, Freeman said, GE agreed to invest in the Bloomington plant.
"It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people," Freeman said of the agreement.
In a separate announcement earlier this month, GE also announced a $68 million investment in its Bloomington plant.
Combining both investments, Bloomington is on tap for $161 million in new investment through 2014.
The housing crash that was a major part of the recent recession also affected related industries, including manufacturing. If people aren't building or buying homes, there's less demand for everything from home appliances to house paint.
Freeman said the housing market hasn't bounced back, but GE is investing now so that it can be ready for recovery.
"The home building industry is still down, but what we are looking at is the future. ... If we waited until the economy bounces back and the home economy bounces back, we would miss the boat."