The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped deeper into negative territory in March by declining 19 points to -20.9. The index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector. Based on firms responding to the survey, the March reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New York state, the Federal Reserve […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped deeper into negative territory in March by declining 19 points to -20.9. The index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector. Based on firms responding to the survey, the March reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its March 15 report. A negative index number indicates a decline in the manufacturing sector, while a positive reading shows expansion or growth in manufacturing activity. The survey found “demand softened as new orders declined significantly, and shipments were lower,” the New York Fed said. It also found the six-month outlook improved, though optimism “remained subdued.”
Survey details
The new-orders index fell 11 points to -17.2, and the shipments index moved down 10 points to -6.9, pointing to a decline in orders and shipments, the New York Fed said.
The unfilled-orders index held steady at -10.9, a sign that unfilled orders continued to fall.
The inventories index was little changed at -12.9, suggesting that inventories were lower, and the delivery-times index came in at -1.0, indicating that delivery times held steady. The index for number of employees fell 7 points to -7.1, and the average-workweek index fell 6 points to -10.4, pointing to a “modest decline” in employment levels and hours worked.
The prices-paid index edged down 4 points to 28.7, indicating that input price increases slowed, and the prices-received index was unchanged at 17.8. Firms expect conditions to improve over the next six months, though optimism continued to be “subdued,” the New York Fed said.
The index for future business conditions held steady at 21.6. The capital-spending index was little changed at 11.9, suggesting capital-spending plans remained “somewhat soft.” 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.