The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index fell 19 points in March to -24.6 as new orders and shipments declined. The index had climbed 27 points in February to -5.8. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector. The March reading — based on firms responding to the survey […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index fell 19 points in March to -24.6 as new orders and shipments declined.
The index had climbed 27 points in February to -5.8. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector.
The March reading — based on firms responding to the survey — indicates business activity “continued to decline” in the state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its March 15 report.
A negative index number indicates a decline in the state’s manufacturing sector, while a positive reading points to expansion or growth in manufacturing activity.
The survey found 20 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 45 percent said that conditions had worsened, the New York Fed said.
It also found that new orders dropped significantly and shipments declined modestly.
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 state. On average, about 100 executives return responses.
Survey details
The new-orders index fell 14 points to -21.7, indicating that orders declined substantially, and the shipments index dropped 14 points to -13.4, pointing to a decline in shipments, the New York Fed said.
The unfilled-orders index came in at -6.7, a sign that unfilled orders continued to decline. At -7.6, the delivery-times index was negative for a second straight month, indicating that delivery times shortened. The inventories index moved down 8 points to -1.9, indicating that inventory levels held steady.
The index for number of employees fell 4 points to -10.1, its second consecutive negative reading, indicating that employment levels continued to decline. The average-workweek index dipped 6 points to -18.5, its lowest level since early in the pandemic, indicating that hours worked fell for a fourth straight month.
Input prices and selling prices increased at a slightly slower pace than the previous month, the New York Fed said. The prices-paid index fell 3 points to 41.9, and the prices-received index moved down 6 points to 22.9.
The index for future business conditions declined 12 points to 2.9, suggesting that manufacturing firms do not expect activity to improve much over the next six months.
New orders and shipments are expected to increase modestly, and employment is expected to be somewhat higher.
The index for future prices paid fell 18 points, suggesting that, looking ahead, manufacturers expect slower input-price increases than they were anticipating the prior month. The capital-spending index and technology-spending index both fell to 13.3.
