New orders and shipments rose significantly in November, sending the general business conditions index of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey to its highest level in almost three years — December 2021. The index jumped 43 points to 31.2 in November after falling 23 points to -11.9 in October. The general business conditions index is the […]
New orders and shipments rose significantly in November, sending the general business conditions index of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey to its highest level in almost three years — December 2021.
The index jumped 43 points to 31.2 in November after falling 23 points to -11.9 in October. The general business conditions index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector.
Based on manufacturing firms responding to the survey, the November reading indicates business activity “grew strongly” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its Nov. 15 survey report.
A positive index number indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative reading on the index shows a decline in the sector.
Besides the increases in new orders and shipments, the survey also found that New York manufacturers remained optimistic about the six-month outlook, the New York Fed said.
Survey details
The new-orders index soared 38 points to 28.0, and the shipments index jumped 35 points to 32.5, pointing to “sharp increases” in both orders and shipments, the New York Fed said.
Unfilled orders “fell modestly.” The inventories index climbed to 1.0, signaling that inventories leveled off.
The delivery times index moved up to 3.1, suggesting that delivery times were slightly longer, and the supply-availability index came in at -4.1, a sign that supply availability “worsened somewhat,” per the report.
Labor-market conditions were stable. The index for number of employees edged down to 0.9, indicating that employment levels were little changed, and the average-workweek index edged up to 6.1, pointing to a modest increase in hours worked.
Price increases remained “steady and modest,” the prices-paid index came in at 27.8, and the prices-received index was 12.4.
New York manufacturers remained optimistic that conditions would continue to improve in the months ahead.
After reaching a multi-year high in October, the index for future business activity edged down 6 points to a still-high reading of 33.2, with half of respondents expecting conditions to improve over the next six months, the New York Fed said.
Employment is expected to grow moderately. Capital-spending plans continued to expand.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York 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.
