New York apple production rose 10 percent last year

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New York apple production increased 10 percent in 2017 to 1.3 billion pounds, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service recently reported. Empire State apple farmers expect to harvest 705 million pounds of apples for fresh utilization and 575 million pounds for processing utilization. The 2017 value of utilized production of all New York apples was […]

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United Way of CNY appoints new board members

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SYRACUSE — The United Way of Central New York announced that the following 10 community leaders have recently joined its board of directors. • Stephen Fournier, KeyBank market president • Cailee Garm, VP of human resources at TCG Player • Diana D. Jones, RN, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists • Jeff Knauss, co-founder of Digital Hyve • Tim LaLonde, CFO at Dinosaur

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Mohawk Valley Community College, University at Buffalo ink affiliation agreement

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UTICA — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) and University at Buffalo’s (UB) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have signed an affiliation agreement to create a 2 + 4 undergraduate/professional school education program. Under the plan, students would complete MVCC’s “Liberal Arts and Sciences: Mathematics and Science: Biology” degree program and then apply to and

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Some firms turn to bus service to make work more accessible

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MARATHON — As more employers report difficulties in finding qualified employees — in CenterState CEO’s economic forecast for 2018, members said it was getting harder to find skilled workers — some are turning to public transit for help. Square Deal Machining Inc. (SDMI), on Route 11 in Marathon, has been growing, adding equipment and employees.

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Square Deal Machining Inc. (SDMI), on Route 11 in Marathon, has been growing, adding equipment and employees. Looking for help with the latter, it reached out to Cortland Transit.

Cortland Transit agreed to alter its bus route 5, which operates twice a day each morning and again in the afternoon. It will now run past the four corners in Marathon up to SDMI’s facility on Route 11.

The extra distance is only a mile or so, says Stephen Donnelly, a spokesperson for SDMI. But it makes it more convenient for workers. Buses will stop at one or both of SDMI’s buildings, he notes.

“Living in a rural area, many employees rely on Cortland Transit to get to work each day,” Joe Morgan, CEO of Square Deal, said in a release. “The Cortland Transit system has helped us recruit talented workers from all over the county, and we believe this partnership will allow more hardworking individuals to find quality professional opportunities at SDMI.”

Altering a bus route isn’t as simple as putting up a new bus stop sign, officials say. In fact, it can be quite complicated.

Richard Lee, CEO of Centro, which serves four counties in Central New York, explains that routes are timed so riders can make transfers from one route to another. To do that, bus schedules have to be coordinated to avoid leaving riders to wait for their next connection.

In addition, Centro buses travel out and back, Lee says, always returning to a transit hub. Extending a route for one stop means expanding the trip for all subsequent stops.

Getting people to work is a large part of what Centro does. Lee says 77 percent of Centro’s ridership — some 11 million people a year — consists of workers going to or from their jobs. He says in his tenure, the organization’s has been “focused on what we can do to help individuals get to and from work.”

So, for instance, last year a bus route in Baldwinsville was altered to reach the Tops Market for shoppers as well as for people who use the bus to commute to work at Tops.

Centro also added Township Five shopping center in Camillus to an existing route when several employees of the Costco Wholesale store located there made a request.

Steven Koegel, Centro’s VP of communications and business planning, says his organization welcomes inquiries from businesses. He adds that as businesses consider new facilities or simply moving to a new location, they would do well to check with Centro, or whatever service provides mass transit in their community, to see if the site is on a route or could be added.

While altering a route can be complicated, adding one can be costly, Lee says. Along with the cost of a driver and fuel to travel the route, he points out that there are increased costs for mechanics and, of course, the cost of a new bus. Today’s buses cost about $535,000 each, he says.

The economics involved are complicated as well. Currently, riders’ fares cover just 23 percent of the cost of Centro’s operations. Advertising revenue covers about 7 percent and the remaining 70 percent is covered by federal, state and local subsidies. “We don’t have any control over that,” Lee says.

One alternative is for an employer or group of employers to subsidize a route, something Centro is discussing right now with some businesses.

Looking to the future, Lee says Centro is already planning for rising demand if and when work begins on Interstate 81 in downtown Syracuse. The work is expected to impact travel for years, depending on which plan is implemented.

“That’s going to be a whole ‘nother thing,” he quips.

Fastrac Markets opens new store in Pulaski

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PULASKI — Fastrac Markets, an upstate New York chain of gas station/convenience stores, has opened a new store in the village of Pulaski. Fastrac last fall acquired the property at 3821 Rome Road, which was formerly home to a Nice N Easy store, Jim Allen, Fastrac’s VP of marketing, tells CNYBJ in an email. The

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Lockheed Martin wins $25M add-on to undersea warfare combat system contract

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Rotary and Mission Systems unit has recently awarded a nearly $25.4 million modification to a previously awarded contract from the U.S. Navy. It will exercise an option and provide incremental funding in support of the continued development, integration, and production of the Navy’s AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare (USW) System, the U.S.

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New York manufacturing index declines in July

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

Reading still shows “robust growth in the industry” The Empire State Manufacturing survey general business-conditions index dipped more than 2 points to 22.6 in July from 25 in June, which was an eight-month high. The latest reading still indicates that manufacturing business activity “continued to grow at a fairly brisk pace in New York” in

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Reading still shows “robust growth in the industry”

The Empire State Manufacturing survey general business-conditions index dipped more than 2 points to 22.6 in July from 25 in June, which was an eight-month high.

The latest reading still indicates that manufacturing business activity “continued to grow at a fairly brisk pace in New York” in July. That’s because a positive index number indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative index reading shows a decline in the sector.

The July number is “still a high level, suggesting a continuation of robust growth,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its Empire State Survey report issued July 16.

The survey found 40 percent of New York manufacturing respondents reported that conditions had improved in June, while 17 percent said conditions had worsened.

Survey details

The new-orders index dipped 3 points to 18.2, while the shipments index fell 9 points to 14.6, “suggesting only a modest deceleration” in orders and shipments, the New York Fed said.

Unfilled orders leveled off, and inventories edged down. Delivery times continued to lengthen, “though by a narrower margin than in recent months.”

The index for number of employees slipped 2 points to 17.2. It had climbed to its highest level of the year in June, so the decrease pointed to “ongoing moderate growth” in employment, according to the New York Fed.

The average-workweek index fell 6 points to 5.6, suggesting “more modest” increases in hours worked than in recent months, the survey report said.

Price increases remained “widespread.” The prices-paid index retreated 10 points from last month’s measure, just below May’s multiyear high, but remained elevated at 42.7. The prices-received index was little changed at 22.2, signaling “ongoing moderate” rises in selling prices.

Optimism about the six-month outlook slipped in July. The index for future business conditions fell 8 points to 31.1, “essentially reversing” last month’s gain. Manufacturers continue to expect “fairly swift” increases in employment in the months ahead, and the indexes for future prices “remained elevated.”

The index for planned capital expenditures fell 10 points to 17.1, and the technology-spending index declined 8 points to 9.4 — both are at their lowest levels in roughly a year.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York state. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

Upstate, statewide consumer sentiment rises in Q2

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Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 90.7 in the second quarter of 2018, up 6.8 points from the last reading of 83.9 in the first quarter of 2018. That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of upstate and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena Research Institute (SRI) released July 11. Upstate’s overall sentiment

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Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 90.7 in the second quarter of 2018, up 6.8 points from the last reading of 83.9 in the first quarter of 2018.

That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of upstate and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena Research Institute (SRI) released July 11.

Upstate’s overall sentiment of 90.7 was 1.5 points above the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 89.2, which rose 2.1 points from the first quarter.

The statewide figure was 9 points lower than the second-quarter figure of 98.2 for the entire nation, which was down 3.2 points from the first-quarter reading, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

Consumer sentiment across New York state is well above the optimism/pessimism breakeven point for the 15th consecutive quarter, Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director, said in the survey report.

“Upstate the overall index jumped nearly 7 points driven by greater confidence in the future of business and economic conditions. Despite, or perhaps because of a volatile stock market, fears of tariffs and a wholesale trade war, consumer sentiment rose dramatically among Republicans — up 14 points — while Democrats, although up a point, trail Republicans by 18 points,” said Lonnstrom.

In the second quarter of 2018, buying plans were up 0.7 percentage points since the first-quarter measurement to 14.3 percent for cars and trucks; up 2.1 to 40.3 percent for consumer electronics; up 0.3 percent to 27.7 percent for furniture; and up 0.3 percent to 7.4 percent for homes.

Buying plans fell 0.8 percent to 21.6 percent for major home improvements, according to the SRI data.

“Buying plans for major consumer items — cars, homes, furniture and electronics were all up this quarter and remain high signaling continued consumer driven activity throughout the economy,” Lonnstrom said.

Gas and food prices

In SRI’s quarterly analysis of gas and food prices, 48 percent of upstate New York respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, up from 34 percent in the first quarter and 36 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

In addition, 40 percent of statewide respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly spending plans, up from 29 percent in the first quarter and 34 percent in the fourth quarter.

“New Yorkers notice and feel the price at the pump immediately. Concern over gasoline prices hit 40 percent for the first time since June of 2015 when prices last flirted with three dollars a gallon,” Lonnstrom said.

When asked about food prices, 51 percent of upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious impact on their finances, down from 55 percent in the first quarter and from 53 percent in the fourth quarter.

At the same time, 55 percent of statewide respondents said the price of food was having a serious impact on their monthly finances, equal to the responding percentage in the first quarter and down from 58 percent in the fourth quarter.

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment between June 12 and June 27 by telephone calls conducted in English to 807 New York residents. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points, according to SRI.

Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece to combine with Barclay Damon

Law, Accounting & Taxes, Small Business, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Barclay Damon LLP on July 17 announced that the lawyers and staff of Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece, P.C. are joining the firm, effective Aug. 1. The Menter firm’s 31 employees, including 14 attorneys, will become part of Barclay Damon, the firm tells CNYBJ. Nine of its 14 lawyers are joining Barclay Damon as

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SYRACUSE — Barclay Damon LLP on July 17 announced that the lawyers and staff of Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece, P.C. are joining the firm, effective Aug. 1.

The Menter firm’s 31 employees, including 14 attorneys, will become part of Barclay Damon, the firm tells CNYBJ. Nine of its 14 lawyers are joining Barclay Damon as partners. The law firms didn’t disclose any financial terms of the combination agreement.

The Syracuse–based Menter firm is “widely known” for its work in commercial-bankruptcy cases, Barclay Damon says.

The combination will increase Barclay Damon’s employee count to 471, the firm says. With an employee count that includes nearly 300 lawyers, Barclay Damon describes itself as a “leading regional firm.”

In the “coming months,” the attorneys and staff of Menter will move to Barclay Damon Tower in downtown Syracuse, and the firm will shift “a number” of administrative groups and functions to Menter’s former office space in Franklin Square, according to Barclay Damon.

Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece, a 65-year-old firm, currently operates its Syracuse office at 308 Maltbie St. It also has a small North Country office at 120 Washington St. in Watertown. That location will also operate under the Barclay Damon name, the firm tells CNYBJ.

Why they’re combining

Barclay Damon says it believes Menter’s experience in bankruptcy law “in particular” and the firm’s “proven ability to marshal the talents of other professionals in support of complex commercial-bankruptcy scenarios” will have “significant, long-term value for the firm’s growing” client base and areas of industry focus.

Those areas include the “ever-changing” energy and health-care industries, along with the retail and shopping-center developer space. Also known for providing “sophisticated” transactional and litigation advice, the Menter firm’s attorneys bring “decades of experience” in business litigation, commercial lending, real property tax, construction, and employment law, Barclay Damon contends.

Jeffrey Dove, president and CEO of the Menter firm, will help lead Barclay Damon’s “substantially expanded” restructuring, bankruptcy & creditors’-rights practice area as a new co-chair of that practice area.

The combination of Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece with Barclay Damon is “exciting news, adding depth and experience to the services offered to clients of both firms,” John Langan, managing partner at Barclay Damon, said in a statement. “With Menter’s proven track record and dominant position in the area of bankruptcy, insolvency, and distressed asset counseling, we see this expansion as adding real value to the legal services we offer,” he said.

Barclay Damon was formed in 2015 with the combination of Syracuse–based Hiscock & Barclay and the Buffalo–based Damon Morey. Barclay Damon currently has 12 offices throughout New York state and in Boston, Newark, Toronto, and Washington D.C.

M&T Bank rolls out new services for small businesses

Banks & Credit Unions, Small Business, Subscriber Only

M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), which banks number one in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York area, on June 19 announced a series of new and upcoming services for its small-business customers. They include a new online business-loan application, new business credit cards, and a new business cash-management platform. Online-lending platform M&T Bank

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Online-lending platform

M&T Bank plans to start offering online business loans “in early September,” Julia Berchou, assistant VP for corporate communications, tells CNYBJ.

The new service will enable current business clients to apply for loans and lines of credit up to $100,000 through a “simple” online application. In most cases, the bank will notify customers of approval decisions the same business day, and M&T promises to fund the loans within three business days.

“With this new online-lending technology, we have simplified the process of applying for smaller credit requests, enabling more businesses to access the credit they need online, with swift decision making,” Eric Feldstein, senior VP and head of business banking at M&T Bank, said in a release.

The new lending platform will offer an all-digital format, but customers will still be able to work with a branch manager or relationship manager to guide them through the process for obtaining a business loan.

Business credit cards

Buffalo–based M&T Bank has also launched a new credit-card program for businesses that provides customers with “flexible” access to funds and the opportunity to earn points from purchases, as well as “enhanced conveniences.”

The company previously provided credit cards to businesses through a third-party, M&T said.

The new suite of cards includes the M&T business rewards credit card and M&T business credit card, which are both available with a 0 percent annual percentage rate on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. The M&T business rewards credit card offers 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases with no annual fee, according to the release. Neither card assesses foreign-transaction fees, M&T added.

The cards will now be available at M&T Bank’s more than 750 branches, as well as through a relationship manager, and can be integrated with the M&T’s online-banking platform, known as “online banking for business.” They also include “design your card” features; online and mobile-account access; fraud protection; and the ability to pay using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

M&T BizPay

M&T Bank also announced the rollout of M&T BizPay, a new automated clearing house (ACH), and wire-transfer service integrated with M&T online banking for business.

The new service creates a “more convenient and simpler” channel for business clients to quickly pay vendors and perform payroll services, “in many cases the same business day,” the bank contends.

“Today’s business owners are busier than ever, and any opportunity to make the process around money transfer or cash-flow management more convenient is incredibly important,” said Feldstein.

M&T Bank has 67 branch offices and a nearly 19.4 percent share of all market deposits in the 16-county Central New York region, according to the latest FDIC statistics, as of June 30, 2017. ν

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