Manufacturing activity in our area increased for the eighth month in a row in October, despite recent negative indications from the Empire State Manufacturing Survey and the national ISM Index. The seasonally adjusted Buffalo-Niagara PMI Index was up 3.7 points to 66.1, compared to the national ISM Index reading of 56.4 in October (readings above 50 indicate expansion). This is the seventh month in a row that the PMI has been above the ISM reading. Constituent Indices for Production, New Orders, Inventories, Deliveries and Manufacturing were all up while only Prices and Employment were down.
The November Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell into negative territory in November indicating that manufacturing activity was contracting on a statewide basis. However, that same survey showed that manufacturers were optimistic about the next six months, suggesting that any weakness was expected to be short-term. See the whole Buffalo-Niagara PMI Index report here: BuffaloNAPM_October2013.
