by Calculated Risk on 1/25/2018 11:00:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Growth Strengthened Further

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the January Manufacturing Survey today. 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 strengthened further, and expectations for future activity increased.

“We saw faster growth this month despite some firms noting negative effects from extremely cold weather, and several price indexes rose considerably,” said Wilkerson.
...
The month-over-month composite index was 16 in January, higher than 13 in December and 15 in November. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Growth in factory activity improved at both durable and non-durable goods plants, particularly for machinery, aircraft, chemicals, and plastics. Most month-over-month indexes also increased. The shipments, new orders, and order backlog indexes all rose moderately. The employment index inched higher from 16 to 18, while the production index was unchanged. The raw materials inventory index climbed from 7 to 15, and the finished goods inventory index moved into positive territory.
emphasis added

So far all of the regional Fed surveys have been solid in January, although only the Kansas City index has been above the December levels (most indexes suggest slower growth in January than in December).