Economy
NY Manufacturing Index Shows Increased Momentum
Written by Sandy Williams
August 14, 2019
Despite concerns over trade wars and recession, the Empire State Manufacturing Index expanded in August.
The index from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed modest improvement in August, beating economists’ expectations. The general business index rose for a second month, increasing to 4.8 from 4.3 in July.
“New orders increased after declining for the prior two months, and shipments continued to expand,” said the NY Fed. “Unfilled orders fell, delivery times were steady and inventories increased. The employment and average workweek indexes were both slightly below zero, pointing to sluggishness in labor market conditions.”
Firms were not as optimistic in August as they were in July. The index for future business conditions fell five points to 25.7 along with a predicted decline in future new orders.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
Steel groups welcome passage of budget bill
Steel trade groups praised the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) in Congress on Thursday.
Industry groups praise Senate for passing tax and budget bill
The Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the tax provisions included in the Senate's tax and budget reconciliation bill.
Chicago PMI dips 0.1 points in June
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped 0.1 points to 40.4 points, in June.
Multi-family pullback drives housing starts to 5-year low in May
US housing starts tumbled in May to a five-year low, according to figures recently released by the US Census Bureau.
Architecture firms still struggling, ABI data shows
Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.