Widget Image
Follow PPD Social Media
Sunday, December 8, 2024
HomeNewsEconomyPhiladelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey Post First Negative Reading Since May 2016

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey Post First Negative Reading Since May 2016

A manufacturing assembly line at the Heinz factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Courtesy of Heinz)

Employment, 6-Month Outlook Still Suggest Solid Regional Activity

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey weakened in February, falling to -4.1 and missing the forecast. This is the index’s first negative reading since May 2016.

The consensus forecast was 14.0, with forecasts ranging from a low of 12.0 to a high of 16.0

The diffusion index for future general activity held steady this month at a solid 31.3. More than 46% of the firms expect increases in activity over the next six months, while just 15% expect declines.

The future new orders index fell 3 points, but the future shipments index increased 4 points. The future employment index fell 11 points to 23.6, the lowest reading since November 2016.

However, the percentage of firms expecting to increase employment over the next six months (31%) was still far higher than the percentage expecting to decrease employment (7%).

Written by

PPD Business, the economy-reporting arm of People's Pundit Daily, is "making sense of current events." We are a no-holds barred, news reporting pundit of, by, and for the people.

No comments

leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

People's Pundit Daily
You have %%pigeonMeterAvailable%% free %%pigeonCopyPage%% remaining this month. Get unlimited access and support reader-funded, independent data journalism.

Start a 14-day free trial now. Pay later!

Start Trial