Benchmark stays negative, pointing to continued contraction The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index jumped 41 points in February — bouncing back from nearly a four-year low the prior month — but remained in negative territory at -2.4. The […]
Benchmark stays negative, pointing to continued contraction
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index jumped 41 points in February — bouncing back from nearly a four-year low the prior month — but remained in negative territory at -2.4. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge of New York state’s manufacturing sector.
Based on firms responding to the survey, the February reading indicates business activity “edged slightly lower” in the state, the New York Fed stipulated in its Feb. 15 report. A negative index number indicates a decline in the state’s manufacturing sector, while a positive index reading shows expansion or growth in manufacturing activity. The Empire State Survey found new orders declined modestly, while shipments edged higher, the New York Fed said. It also found the six-month outlook improved, though optimism “remained subdued.” Survey details The new-orders index soared 43 points to -6.3 in February. That still pointed to an ongoing decline in orders, though at a slower pace than the previous month. The shipments index increased 34 points to 2.8, indicating a small increase in shipments, the New York Fed said.
The unfilled-orders index came in at -9.6, a sign that such orders continued to fall. The inventories index was little changed at -9.6, suggesting that inventories fell modestly, and the delivery-times index remained negative at -3.2, indicating shorter delivery times. The index for number of employees climbed to a level of near zero, suggesting employment levels were “unchanged,” while the average-workweek index came in at -4.7, pointing to a small decline in hours worked, the New York Fed reported.
The prices-paid index moved higher for a second straight month, rising 10 points to 33.0, and the prices-received index climbed 8 points to 17.0, pointing to a pickup in both input and selling-price increases. New York manufacturing firms expect activity to grow over the next six months, though optimism “remained subdued,” per the survey report. The index for future business conditions edged up 3 points to 21.5.
The capital-spending index was little changed at 11.7, suggesting that capital-spending plans remained “somewhat soft,” the report stated. 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.