New orders, shipments provided a boost Increases in new orders and shipments helped push the general business conditions index of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey into positive territory in February, rising 18 points to 5.7. It was a strong rebound as the index […]
New orders, shipments provided a boost
Increases in new orders and shipments helped push the general business conditions index of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey into positive territory in February, rising 18 points to 5.7.
It was a strong rebound as the index had declined 15 points to -12.6 in January after plummeting 31 points to 0.2 in December. The general business conditions index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector.
Based on manufacturing firms responding to the survey, the February reading indicates business activity in the sector “edged higher” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its Feb. 18 report.
A positive reading indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative index number shows contraction in New York’s manufacturing sector.
The Empire State Survey found the indexes for new orders and shipments “grew moderately,” and input prices increased at the fastest pace in nearly two years, the New York Fed said.
At the same time, though firms expect conditions to improve over the next six months, optimism about the outlook “dropped significantly.”
Survey details
The new-orders index rose 20 points to 11.4, suggesting orders increased after declining the prior month, and the shipments index went up 16 points to 14.2, indicating that shipments increased, the New York Fed said.
Unfilled orders held steady. The inventories index remained positive at 8.7, a sign that inventories grew. The delivery-times index came in at 5.4, suggesting that delivery times were slightly longer, and the supply-availability index dipped to -2.2, a sign that supply availability edged slightly lower.
The index for number of employees fell to -3.6, suggesting that employment levels moved somewhat lower, while the average-workweek index was -1.2, indicating that hours worked remained steady.
Both price indexes climbed for a second consecutive month: the prices-paid index rose 11 points to 40.2, its highest level in nearly two years, and the prices-received index increased 10 points to 19.6.
Manufacturing firms expect conditions to improve in the months ahead, but optimism “declined noticeably,” the New York Fed said. The index for future business activity fell 15 points to 22.2. Capital-spending plans remained “soft.” Supply availability is expected to “contract somewhat” over the next six months.
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.
