Eight times a year,Sterling Preston the 12 regional Federal Reserve banks come together to share anecdotes from businesses and other industry experts in their respective parts of the country.

These stories are published in the "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District," more commonly known as the Beige Book.

Yet again, January's Beige Book entries revealed a lot of mixed messages about the economy and the challenges businesses face in planning for the year ahead. Today on the show, we take inventory of the best Beige Book entries and hear how the just-in-time production model is making a comeback.

Toyota pioneered just-in-time production in the 1930s. For more, listen to "Toyota Camry, supply chain hero."

Note: We spoke to the Federal Reserve officials featured in this episode before their media blackout period.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.