Economy
Weak Conditions on the Horizon: Empire State Manufacturing Survey
Written by Becca Moczygemba
October 18, 2022
Business activity in the state of New York has recently declined, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey responses collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between Oct. 3 and Oct. 11.
The survey’s headline general business conditions index dropped to -9.1 for October, maintaining a negative value for the third straight month.
The index plummeted to -31.30 in August, its lowest reading since May 2020. A recovery in September came in better than expected at -1.5, though still not ideal, as any reading below zero denotes deteriorating conditions.
Shipments plunged a staggering 19.9 points to -0.3 despite a small increase in the average number of hours worked per week.
“Delivery times held steady, and inventories inched higher. Labor market indicators pointed to a small increase in employment and the average workweek. Input price increases picked up, while the pace of selling price increases held steady. Looking ahead, firms do not expect business conditions to improve over the next six months,” the NY Fed said in its monthly survey report.
With weak conditions on the horizon, the indexes for future new orders and shipments remained low at -8.3 for new orders and -14.5 for shipments, respectively. However, employment and capital spending are expected to increase, while delivery times are predicted to shorten significantly.
An interactive history of the Empire State Manufacturing Index is available on our website. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
By Becca Moczygemba, Becca@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Economy
Fewer manufacturers optimistic about the economy
PMA’s April report shows that only 16% of surveyed manufacturers anticipate an increase in economic activity in the next three months (down from 23% in March)
Architecture billings continue to slide in March
Architecture firms said billings continued to decline in March, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) released by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.
Beige Book shows concerns about trade policy
Manufacturing was mixed, but two-thirds of districts said activity was little changed or had declined.
New York state manufacturing index drops again in April
Firms were pessimistic, with the future general business conditions index falling to its second lowest reading in the more than 20-year history of the survey
Construction adds 13,000 jobs in March
The construction sector added 13,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted, in March, but tariffs could undermine the industry.