Commentary Manufacturing executives in California are more excited about their growth prospects than they’ve been in nearly 20 years. That’s the takeaway from a recent Chapman University polling of purchasing managers at manufacturing companies. Professors at the university’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research surveyed buyers from throughout the Golden State about their expectations for production, inventory, commodity prices, supplier deliveries, prospects for new orders, and hiring plans. The poll revealed that purchasing managers in California expect an expansion of economic activity, as well as an acceleration in the rate at which economic expansion is expected to take place. The index for “employment” (hiring plans) now stands at 65.4 for July through September, “indicating that employment in [California] manufacturing is expected to increase at a higher rate in the third quarter.” Notably, the study also revealed that “no industry reported an expected decrease in commodity prices.”  Indeed, the index …