Nathan Rogers works on the jet assembly line at Cessna, at their manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas March 12, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index released on Thursday finds regional factory activity came in at 11.0, easily beating the 8.0 median forecast. Factory in the Tenth District is also expected to remain very strong, according to the index.
“Firms reported faster growth in June than earlier in the second quarter,” said Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. “The share of factories planning to add workers over the next six months also rose solidly.”
The composite year-over-year index rose from 18 to 28, which is the highest level since June 2011. Current production and shipments, both at 23, were also very strong.
Positive readings indicate monthly growth and negative readings monthly contraction. Readings at zero indicate no change. The headline number is the composite index, which is an average of the production, new orders, employment, delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes.
