Manufacturing activity across New York State “edged somewhat higher” according to the NY Federal Reserve’s January Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The general business conditions index was up +1.5 points to 4.8 (a reading above 0.0 indicates growth), the eighth consecutive month of single digit readings following a sharp drop last June. New Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders, Delivery Time and Inventories were all in the +/- single-digit range as well. Prices Paid and Prices Received were both up double digits with the former up +16.3 to 31.5 and the latter up +10.1 to 14.4, the highest readings of any of the sub-indices. In contrast, the six-month forward outlook fell -2.5 to 23.6 suggesting that “optimism about future conditions remained restrained.” See the full report here.
