The Empire/NY Fed manufacturing index for May shows:
- Prior month 11.0
- new orders 22.7 versus 19.3 last month. Higher
- shipments 18.9 versus 20.2 last month. Lower
- unfilled orders 4.9 versus 9.1 last month. Lower
- delivery time 20.4 versus 12.1 last month. Higher.
- Inventories 9.7 versus 5.1 last month. Higher.
- Prices paid 62.6 versus 51.1 last month. Higher
- Prices received 31.8 versus 21.8 last month. Higher.
- Employees 8.3 versus 9.8 last month. Lower
- average employee workweek 11.5 versus 13.7 last month. Lower
- supply availability -10.7 versus -10.1 last month. Lower
Looking at the data, although the index is higher, things like prices increasing and employment decreasing is a problem. The good news is new orders and shipments did rise.
Richard Deitz, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed
“New York State manufacturing activity grew at
its fastest pace in over four years in May. New orders
and shipments rose strongly, and employment continued
to increase. However, the pace of price increases
surged while delivery times and supply availability worsened.”
