Hog prices are somewhat higher than in the first half of 1996, and with lower feed costs following harvest, hog producers are doing better than a year ago. Hog slaughter is down slightly from year-earlier levels. A check verification service estimated that Minnesota holiday sales were up less than 2 percent and the month of December itself was flat, both compared to year-earlier levels. Retailers in western Wisconsin, one of the fastest growing areas in the district, are somewhat more positive as are their counterparts in North Dakota. Consumer caution, widespread discounting and intense competition mark the sales environment described by retailing CEOs at a Minneapolis Fed meeting.
Bad weather is blamed in part.
Good snow conditions are keeping ski and snowmobile trails busy in South Dakota, according to a tourist official. But a ski resort operator in northern Minnesota reports a slight decrease in the number of visitors compared to last year's record pace, and the deer hunting season in Michigan's Upper Peninsula was disappointing for local businesses. These reports of greater strength in western areas of the district reverses a pattern of more optimism in the east that prevailed through much of 1996. Winter recreation businesses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan reportedly continue to anticipate good business, but extremely cold, stormy weather is eroding those hopes. General Business Sentiment Businesspeople who responded to a Ninth District poll at the end of 1996 generally expressed expectations of continued moderate economic growth in 1997.