Economy
Empire State Manufacturing Index Plummets
Written by Laura Miller
May 16, 2023
The latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey shows a steep decline in business activity in the state of New York.
The headline manufacturing general business conditions index from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York fell into the negative, dropping by nearly 43 points to -31.8 in the survey taken between May 2-9. The April index reading is close to January’s reading of -32.9, which was the lowest point since the Covid-19 pandemic.
In April, the index rose for the first time in five months, but that was the only reading in positive territory so far this year.
After increasing last month, new orders and shipments declined sharply, delivery times shortened, and inventories shrunk.
“Looking ahead, businesses continued to expect little improvement in conditions over the next six months,” the report said.
The future business conditions index inched up, from 6.6 in April to just 9.8 in May.
An interactive history of the Empire State Manufacturing Index is available on our website.
By Laura Miller, laura@steelmarketupdate.com
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest 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.