New orders and shipments were again factors as the general business-conditions index of the monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey bounced back into positive territory in June by climbing 38 points to 6.6. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector. It’s been going up and down like a yo-yo the […]
New orders and shipments were again factors as the general business-conditions index of the monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey bounced back into positive territory in June by climbing 38 points to 6.6.
The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector. It’s been going up and down like a yo-yo the last three months. The index had plummeted 43 points in May to -31.8 after rising 35 points in April.
The June reading — based on firms responding to the survey — indicates business activity “increased modestly” in New York State, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its June 15 report.
A positive reading indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative index number shows contraction in the sector.
The survey found 31 percent of New York manufacturer respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 24 percent reported that conditions had worsened, the New York Fed said.
It also found that new orders inched up and shipments “grew strongly.”
Survey details
The new-orders index climbed 31 points to 3.1, indicating that orders edged higher, and the shipments index shot up 38 points to 22.0, pointing to a “substantial” increase in shipments, the New York Fed said.
The unfilled-orders index remained negative at -8.0, a sign that unfilled orders continued to decline. The inventories index also remained negative at -6.0, showing that inventories moved lower.
The delivery-times index came in at -1.0, suggesting delivery times were little changed.
At -3.6, the index for number of employees remained negative for a fifth straight month, and the average-workweek index also held below zero at -5.8, pointing to another monthly decline in employment and hours worked.
Price increases moderated “significantly” as the prices-paid index fell 13 points to 22.0, and the prices-received index dropped 15 points to 9.0. Both price indexes are now at levels “not materially different than what prevailed just before the pandemic,” the New York Fed noted.
The index for future business conditions increased 9 points to 18.9, its second consecutive monthly increase, suggesting firms have become “more optimistic” that conditions will improve over the next six months.
New orders and shipments are expected to increase “modestly,” and manufacturing employment in the state is expected to expand.
After falling close to zero last month, the capital-spending index increased only 7 points to 8.0, suggesting that capital spending plans “remained soft.”
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.