Economy

Manufacturing remains sluggish in New York state

Written by Laura Miller

February 20, 2024

Manufacturing activity in New York State continued to shrink this month, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The survey, which goes out to about 200 executives each month, gauges manufacturing activity across the state.

The headline index for Empire State manufacturing saw a huge contraction to start the year, plummeting from -14.5 in December to -43.7 in January. Despite shooting up 41 points this month, the index remained negative at -2.4 for February.

The survey, conducted Feb. 2-8, points to an ongoing decline in new orders, a small increase in shipments, a modest contraction in inventories, and short delivery times, the Fed said.

“Manufacturing activity continued to edge slightly lower in New York state after contracting sharply in January, and price increases picked up. Firms’ optimism remained subdued,” noted Richard Deitz, economic research advisor at the New York Fed.

The headline index suggests slow manufacturing in the state and pessimism from manufacturing executives. The highest the headline index got in 2023 was 10.8 in April. For all of 2023, the index averaged -8.6. In 2022, it averaged -2.9.

An interactive history of the Empire State Manufacturing Index is available on our website.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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