Manufacturing Activity in Philly Fed's District Accelerated in September
16 Setembro 2021 - 10:21AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
Growth of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area
gathered pace in September after several months slowing down,
according to a survey released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank
of Philadelphia.
The index for current general activity climbed to 30.7 in
September from 19.4 in August, above the 18.7 expected from
economists' polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The survey polls manufacturers in the Third Federal Reserve
District--which covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey
and Delaware--about the direction of change in overall business
activity at their plants. A reading above zero indicates
expansion.
The index signals that overall manufacturing activity in the
region continued to expand, and its expansion pace rebounded
compared with the previous two months.
U.S. factory activity keeps rising, though there is growing
evidence that problems related to procuring components and raw
materials are constraining output. These supply-chain shortages
aren't expected to clear soon as Covid-19 still disrupts many parts
of the global economy.
In September, 33% of firms in the Philly Fed's district reported
increases in overall activity, while 3% reported decreases compared
with the previous month.
Demand-related indicators posted mixed readings. The new orders
index eased to 15.9 in September from 22.8 the previous month,
while the shipments index increased to 29.9 from 18.9.
The employment index cooled to 26.3 from 32.6 the previous
month, signaling increases in employment but at a slightly slower
pace than in August.
The indicators for prices paid and prices received remained
elevated but posted small declines. The prices paid diffusion index
declined to 67.3, while the prices received index ticked down one
point to 52.9. Both indices suggest widespread increases in
prices.
The survey's future indexes indicate that respondents continue
to expect growth over the next six months, although the future
general activity and new orders indexes continued to trend
lower.
The diffusion index for general activity over the next six
months fell to 20.0 from 33.7 the previous month. The future new
orders index and employment indexes also decreased, while the
indicator gauging future shipments increased slightly.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 16, 2021 09:06 ET (13:06 GMT)
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