“Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region expanded for the fifth straight month in September,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and released yesterday.
“All broad indicators — shipments, new orders, and employment — landed in positive territory, with manufacturers noting their first increase in worker numbers since December 2007,” the Fed said. “Other indicators were mixed, however. Capacity utilization grew more slowly, while backlogs and vendor delivery times shrank. In addition, manufacturers reported slower growth in inventories.”
The manufacturing index remained at 14 in September, unchanged from August. Shipments inched up to 22 from 21, the Fed reported. Volume of new orders dipped to 13 from 18, while the backlog of orders index reversed to negative 5, from positive 4 the prior month.
As for the future outlook — six months from now — the shipments index was 20, unchanged from last month, while the volume of new orders index grew to 19 from 16, and backlog of orders tripled to 9 from 3.
Meanwhile, “service sector activity remained soft in September,” according to the bank’s service sector survey. “The ongoing decline in retail sales slowed this month, and shopper traffic was down only slightly compared to a month earlier. In contrast, revenues dropped sharply at services firms. However, survey respondents remained optimistic about demand for their products and services over the next six months.”
