After a negative reading in May, increases in new orders and shipments helped drive a monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing activity back into positive territory in June. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index jumped 15 points to at 6.0 in June. The index also registered positive readings in both March and April. […]
After a negative reading in May, increases in new orders and shipments helped drive a monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing activity back into positive territory in June.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index jumped 15 points to at 6.0 in June.
The index also registered positive readings in both March and April.
The results of the June survey indicate that business activity “expanded modestly” for New York manufacturers, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a news release.
A positive reading on the index indicates expansion or growth in the sector, while a negative reading indicates a decline in manufacturing activity.
The positive result was unexpected as economists were forecasting a negative index reading, ranging from -3.5 to -4 to -5, in June, according to reports from Bloomberg, Reuters, and MarketWatch.com, respectively.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey found 28 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 22 percent said that conditions had worsened, according to the New York Fed.
The new-orders index also rose above zero, its 16-point climb to 10.9 pointing to an increase in orders.
Shipments were also higher, with the shipments index rising to 9.3, while the unfilled-orders index fell to -10.2.
The delivery-time index moved up to -2.0, and at -15.3, the inventories index indicated that firms “drew down inventories in June.”
The prices-paid index was “little changed” at 18.4, an indication that input prices continued to increase at a “moderate” pace.
The prices-received index edged up to -1.0, suggesting that selling prices were largely stable.
The employment index came in at a reading of zero, indicating that employment levels remained flat, a pattern “evident since February.”
At -5.1, the average-workweek index showed that hours worked declined this month.
Indexes for the six-month outlook suggested that respondents were more “sanguine,” or optimistic about future conditions.
The index for future-business conditions rose six points to 34.8, reaching its highest level of 2016.
Indexes for future new orders and shipments also increased, and firms expected employment levels and the average workweek to “hold steady” in the coming months.
After a sharp decline last month, the capital expenditures index rose eight points to 11.2, and the technology-spending index edged down to 4.1.
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.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com