The New York
Federal Reserve reported on Monday that its latest Empire State Manufacturing
Survey found that manufacturing activity in the New York State returned to
growth in early September after nine months of contraction.
According to
the survey, the NY Fed Empire State manufacturing index jumped from -4.70 in August
to +11.50 this month, indicating that business activity in the New York
region’s manufacturing sector increased for the first time since November 2023.
Economists
had expected the index to rise to -3.90.
Anything
below zero signals contraction.
According to
the report, the new orders index jumped 17.3 points to 9.4, a multi-year high,
suggesting a modest gain in orders, while the shipments index surged 17.6
points to 17.9, its highest level in about a year and a half, indicating a
strong advance in shipments.
In the meantime, the unfilled orders index rose 9.5 points to 2.1, signalling a slight gain
in unfilled orders, while the inventories index soared 10.6 points to 0.0,
indicating that inventories were level after reducing for the previous two
months.
The employment
index went up 1.0 point to -5.7, pointing to an ongoing modest decrease in
employment.
The delivery
times index improved by 2.1 points to -1.1, suggesting that delivery times were
little changed, and the supply availability index held steady at -2.1, implying
that supply availability was slightly lower.
On the price
front, the prices paid index slipped 0.2 points to 23.2 in September, while the prices received index fell 1.1 points to 7.4, indicating that the
paces of input and selling price increases were little changed compared to
August.