Led by new orders, shipments Respondents reporting increases in new orders and shipments helped the general business-conditions index of the monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey rise 16 points to 11.5 in September. That’s according to the Sept. 16 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It was the first time manufacturing activity had […]
Led by new orders, shipments
Respondents reporting increases in new orders and shipments helped the general business-conditions index of the monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey rise 16 points to 11.5 in September.
That’s according to the Sept. 16 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It was the first time manufacturing activity had expanded in New York state since November of last year.
In the past few months, the general business-conditions index rose nearly 2 points to -4.7 in August after slipping less than 1 point to -6.6 in July. The index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector.
A positive index number indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative reading on the index shows a decline in the sector.
The survey found “new orders climbed, and shipments grew significantly,” the New York Fed said.
It also found firms grew more optimistic that conditions would improve in the months ahead, though the capital-spending index dipped below zero for the first time since 2020.
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.
Survey details
The new-orders index climbed 17 points to 9.4, a multi-year high, pointing to a “modest” increase in orders, while the shipments index rose 18 points to 17.9, its highest level in about a year and a half, “signaling strong growth” in shipments, the New York Fed said.
Unfilled orders were little changed. The inventories index rose 11 points to 0, indicating that inventories were level after declining for the prior two months.
The delivery-times index rose to -1.1, suggesting that delivery times were little changed, and the supply-availability index came in at -2.1, a sign that supply availability was slightly lower.
The index for number of employees came in at -5.7, pointing to another month of “modest” employment reductions, the New York Fed said. After a steep drop the prior month, the average workweek index recovered to 2.9, signaling a slight increase in hours worked.
Price indexes were little changed: the prices-paid index was 23.2, and the prices-received index remained low at 7.4.
New York manufacturing firms grew more optimistic that conditions would improve in the months ahead. The index for future business activity moved up 8 points to 30.6, with 45 percent of respondents expecting conditions to improve over the next six months.
However, the capital-spending index fell 11 points to -2.1, dipping below zero for the first time since 2020.
