The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index edged up nearly 2 points in August, but stayed in negative territory at -4.7, which indicates a continued deterioration in manufacturing activity. Based on firms responding to the survey, the August reading indicates business activity “edged slightly lower” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index edged up nearly 2 points in August, but stayed in negative territory at -4.7, which indicates a continued deterioration in manufacturing activity.
Based on firms responding to the survey, the August reading indicates business activity “edged slightly lower” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its Aug. 15 report.
A negative index reading indicates a decline in the sector, while a positive number shows expansion or growth in manufacturing activity.
The survey found “new orders declined modestly, while shipments held steady,” the New York Fed said. It also found firms were “fairly optimistic” that conditions would improve in the months ahead.
Survey details
The new orders index fell 7 points to -7.9, pointing to a decline in orders, while the shipments index fell to around zero, suggesting shipments were “flat,” the New York Fed said. Unfilled orders continued to decline.
The inventories index fell to -10.6, indicating that inventories moved lower. The delivery times index remained below zero at -3.2, suggesting that delivery times continued to shorten, while the supply-availability index came in at -2.1, a sign that supply availability was slightly lower.
The index for number of employees was little changed at -6.7, pointing to another month of employment reductions, while the average-workweek index dropped 18 points to -17.8, signaling a “sharp decline” in hours worked. The prices-paid index edged down 3 points to 23.4, indicating a “slight moderation” in input price increases, while the prices-received index edged up 2 points but remained low at 8.5, indicating that selling price increases were still modest.
Firms remained fairly optimistic about the outlook. The index for future business conditions came in at 22.9, with 45 percent of respondents expecting conditions to improve over the next six months. The outlook for employment growth picked up, and capital-spending plans, “while sluggish, firmed somewhat compared to last month,” the New York Fed said.
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.
