Despite a small measure of improvement, declines in new orders, shipments, unfilled orders, and inventories dragged down New York’s manufacturing activity in September. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index inched up 2 points but remained below zero at -2.0 in September. The results of the September survey indicate that business activity “edged lower” […]
Despite a small measure of improvement, declines in new orders, shipments, unfilled orders, and inventories dragged down New York’s manufacturing activity in September.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index inched up 2 points but remained below zero at -2.0 in September.
The results of the September survey indicate that business activity “edged lower” for New York manufacturers, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its news release issued Sept. 15.
A negative reading shows a decline in manufacturing activity, while a positive number on the index indicates expansion or growth in the sector.
The September index level was slightly worse than economists expected. Those surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expected a reading of -1.0, while MarketWatch reported that economists expected the index to land at -0.5.
The Empire State survey found 22 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 24 percent said that conditions had worsened.
Inside the report
The new-orders index fell 8 points to -7.5, indicating that orders dropped, and the shipments index tumbled 18 points to -9.4, pointing to a “pronounced” reduction in shipments, the New York Fed said.
The unfilled-orders index slipped to -11.6. The delivery-time index fell to -6.3, signaling shorter delivery times.
The inventories index moved down 8 points to -12.5, indicating that inventory levels “declined at a faster pace” than in August.
The employment index fell 13 points to -14.3, indicating that employment levels contracted.
The average-workweek index posted a similar decline, falling 14 points to -11.6, a sign of “retrenchment” in hours worked, the New York Fed said.
Both of these indexes reached their lowest levels of 2016, it added.
The prices-paid index was little changed at 17.0, indicating that input prices continued to rise at a “moderate” pace, and the prices-received index held steady at 1.8, signaling that selling prices edged slightly higher.
Indexes for the six-month outlook suggested that respondents were more optimistic about future conditions than they were last month.
The index for future business conditions climbed 11 points to 34.5.
The index for future new orders advanced to a similar level, while the index for future shipments, though positive, declined.
The index for future employment moved up into positive territory, suggesting that firms expected to expand employment in the months ahead.
Indexes for future prices rose considerably, suggesting that firms expected both input prices and selling prices to increase “more significantly” over the next six months.
The capital-expenditures and technology-spending indexes both climbed to 10.7.
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. On average, about 100 executives return responses.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
