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Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Slides To 22.5 In September
By Kitco NewsThursday Septermber 18, 2014 10:00 AM
Editor's Note: Updating earlier story with more details from report.
(Kitco News) - The headline index for a survey of manufacturers in the Philadelphia area declined in September, according to a report released Thursday.
The index for current general activity in the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing business outlook survey fell to 22.5 from 28.0 in August, the regional bank said. The August reading was the highest since March 2011.
The consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations were for a September reading of somewhere between 23.0 to 24.0.
Overall, the Philadelphia Fed said the survey reflected continued growth in the region’s manufacturing sector in September.
“Although the current activity index fell from its relatively high reading in August, the other broad indicators increased from their readings last month,” the report said. “The survey’s indicators for future manufacturing conditions reflect general optimism about growth in activity and employment over the next six months.”
The current new orders and shipments indexes edged higher by 1 and 5 points, respectively, the report said.
“Indexes for both unfilled orders and delivery times were positive this month, suggesting continued strengthening conditions,” the Philadelphia Fed reported.
“The survey’s indicators for labor market conditions suggest notable improvement this month. The employment index increased 12 points to its highest reading since May 2011. The percentage of firms reporting increases in employment (26%) exceeded the percentage reporting decreases (5%). The workweek index was positive for the seventh consecutive month but fell nearly 9 points.”
The report said the price indexes increased moderately.
“Over 31% of the firms reported higher input prices this month, just slightly higher than the level reported last month,” the report said. “The prices paid index increased 2 points. The prices received index, which reflects firms’ own final goods prices, also edged slightly higher, from 4.2 to 8.8. The percent of firms reporting higher prices (13%) exceeded the percentage reporting lower prices (4%), although nearly 80% of the firms reported steady prices.”
By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
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