Chicago Business Barometer falls to 16-month low

The MNI report accredits this reduction to substantial declines in new orders, production, and employment. A decline in supplier deliveries was also noted, while an increase in order backlogs slightly offset the decline.

Employment saw a significant decrease from March to April, now at the second-lowest reading recorded since the pandemic. Both production and new orders fell to 16-month lows, with numerous survey respondents reporting fewer new orders. Supplier deliveries also eased to multi-month lows.

Order backlogs and prices paid both saw rebounds in April, with prices paid moving up to an eight-month high. Inventories recovered to a five-month high, with the report citing delays in planned restocking.

Respondents were asked two special questions this month:

• The first asked how has their ability to pass on input costs changed over the past three months. Only 3% reported a greater ability to pass along costs. Almost half responded ‘somewhat greater’ while a third reported no change. The remainder reported they were less able to pass along costs.
• The second asked what potential disruptions respondents were most concerned about. The majority said geopolitical conflicts, followed by supply shortages, cyber attacks, government regulations, and public health crises.