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
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