by Calculated Risk on 7/29/2013 10:30:00 AM

From the Dallas Fed: Texas Manufacturing Activity Increases but at a Slower Pace

Texas factory activity continued to expand in July, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, fell from 17.1 to 11.4, suggesting output growth continued but at a slower pace than in June. ...

The new orders index was positive for the third month in a row, although it edged down from 13 to 10.8. ...Perceptions of broader business conditions improved again in July. The general business activity index posted a second consecutive positive reading, although it edged down from 6.5 to 4.4.

Labor market indicators reflected a pickup in labor demand. The employment index rose to 9.3, its highest reading in nearly a year. ...

Expectations regarding future business conditions remained optimistic in July. The indexes of future general business activity and future company outlook fell five points but remained in strongly positive territory. Indexes for future manufacturing activity also remained solidly positive.
emphasis added

Here is a graph comparing the regional Fed surveys and the ISM manufacturing index:

Click on graph for larger image.

The New York and Philly Fed surveys are averaged together (dashed green, through July), and five Fed surveys are averaged (blue, through July) including New York, Philly, Richmond, Dallas and Kansas City. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI (red) is through June (right axis).

All of the regional surveys - except Richmond - showed expansion in July.  The ISM index for July will be released Thursday August 1st, and the consensus is for an increase to 53.1 from 50.9 in June (above is expansion).