by Calculated Risk on 9/26/2013 12:52:00 PM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Survey Moderated Somewhat

According to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the survey revealed that growth in Tenth District manufacturing activity moderated somewhat but remained positive, and producers’ expectations for future activity increased markedly.

“We saw slightly slower growth this month, but firms were much more optimistic about industry activity in early 2014” said Wilkerson. “Worker shortages remained a problem at many firms.”
...
The month-over-month composite index was 2 in September, down from 8 in August and 6 in July ... The employment index eased after rising last month
emphasis added

On Tuesday, the Richmond Fed reported:

The composite index of manufacturing activity was flat in September, at a reading of 0 following last month's 14, as the component indexes cooled this month. ... The index for the number of employees fell twelve points from last month to settle at −6.

The overall outlook of producers for the next six months was for stronger business conditions. The gauge for expected shipments added three points to end at 39, and the index for the volume of new orders rose two points to 35 this month.

In aggregate the regional surveys have suggested moderate growth in September. The last of the regional Fed manufacturing surveys for September will be released on Monday (Dallas Fed).