Survey: Manufacturing conditions decline in November

Manufacturing conditions declined moderately in New York in November as Upstate companies weathered Superstorm Sandy and their counterparts Downstate bore its brunt, according to a monthly survey released today.

The general business conditions index in the Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York barely changed in November, edging up by just over 0.9 points to -5.2. The negative reading means more manufacturers reported worsening conditions, 24.3 percent, than improving conditions, 19.1 percent.

Manufacturers showed more optimism for a time six months from now. The survey’s future general business conditions index posted a positive result, 12.9.

That’s down 6.5 points from last month. But it still showed 38.6 percent of manufacturers predicting improved conditions in six months, compared to 25.7 percent anticipating worse conditions.

Upstate New York firms avoided any major adverse impacts from Superstorm Sandy, according to a series of supplementary questions the New York Fed included in November’s report. Just 21 percent of Upstate manufacturers said the storm caused a reduction in business activity, while 100 percent of firms in the New York City area reported a storm-related drop in business activity.

Manufacturers Association of Central New York members didn’t seem greatly affected, according to the association’s president, Randall Wolken.

“We didn’t hear much in Central New York,” he says. “People took precautions — they may have postponed a shift, but there was not a whole lot of an impact.”

The New York Fed polls a set pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in the state for its monthly survey, and about 100 executives typically respond. The Fed seasonally adjusts data.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com