“The pullback in Fifth District manufacturing activity intensified in January,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
The manufacturing index slipped to negative 8 in January from negative 4 in December. Shipments declined to negative 17 from negative 10, the Fed reported. Volume of new orders improved to negative 3 from negative 6, while the backlog of orders index increased to negative 12 from negative 19.
The capacity utilization index dropped to negative 14 from negative 10, while the vendor lead time index reversed to positive 2 from negative 1. The number of employees index fell to negative 2 from positive 5, while the average workweek index dipped to negative 5 from negative 4, and the wages index doubled to 12 from 6.
