The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped slightly to -15.6 in May, pointing to further deterioration in manufacturing conditions in the state. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector. Based on firms responding to the survey, the May reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped slightly to -15.6 in May, pointing to further deterioration in manufacturing conditions in the state.
The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector.
Based on firms responding to the survey, the May reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its May 15 report.
A negative reading on the index indicates a decline in the sector, while a positive index number shows expansion or growth in manufacturing activity.
The survey found “new orders declined significantly, while shipments held steady,” the New York Fed said.
It also found optimism on the six-month outlook “remained subdued.”
Survey details
The new-orders index was unchanged at -16.5, pointing to an “ongoing significant decline” in orders, while the shipments index climbed to -1.2, suggesting that shipments “held steady,” the New York Fed said.
Unfilled orders continued to fall modestly. The inventories index came in at 2.0, indicating that inventories were steady, and the delivery-times index inched down to -9.1, suggesting that delivery times shortened.
The index for number of employees came in at -6.4, and the average-workweek index moved up to -5.8, pointing to an “ongoing decline” in employment levels and hours worked.
The prices-paid index retreated 5 points to 28.3, and the prices-received index declined 3 points to 14.1, indicating that price increases moderated slightly.
Optimism about the outlook “remained subdued.” The index for future business conditions dipped
5 points to 16.7, with only 37 percent of respondents expecting conditions to improve in the next six months. The outlook for employment growth “weakened noticeably.”
The capital-spending index fell to 6.7, suggesting that capital-spending plans “remained 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.
