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Empire State Manufacturing Survey Conditions Edged Up
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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers improved in June. The general business conditions index edged up from its May level to 19.6, extending its string of positive readings to eleven months. The new orders and shipments indexes were also positive and higher than their May levels. The inventories index remained near zero for a second straight month, indicating that inventory levels were little changed. The prices paid index fell 17½ points to 27.2, while the prices received index held steady at 4.9. The index for number of employees was positive, but fell 10 points, while the average workweek index climbed to 8.6. Future indexes were well above zero, but the readings, like last month's, fell short of the relatively high levels recorded earlier this year.
In a series of supplementary questions, manufacturers were asked about their capital spending plans for 2010 relative to their actual spending for 2009, both overall and for a few broad categories of capital (see Supplemental Reports tab). In the current survey, nearly twice as many responding firms reported increases (46 percent) as reductions (25 percent) in overall capital spending in 2010—a marked contrast with the results of an identical survey conducted last June, which showed far more respondents reporting decreases (56 percent) than increases (20 percent). As for specific categories of investment, respondents, on balance, plan to raise spending on software, computers (hardware), and non-computer equipment, but to cut spending on structures.
Posted: June 15, 2010 Tuesday 08:30 AM