by Calculated Risk on 11/21/2014 11:47:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Growth in Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Expanded Further

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the November Manufacturing Survey today. According to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the survey revealed that Tenth District manufacturing activity expanded at a slightly faster pace in November, and producers’ expectations for future activity increased further.

“Regional factory growth improved somewhat in November, although many contacts reported that the cost to retain or hire quality employees is rising, said Wilkerson. The majority of firms expected activity to improve considerably in the next six months.”

The month-over-month composite index was 7 in November, up from 4 in October and 6 in September. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes.... The employment index decreased from 16 to 10 ...

The future composite index moved higher from 17 to 22, and the future production, shipments, and order backlog indexes also rose. The future employment index jumped from 16 to 31, its highest level in almost nine years. In contrast, the future new orders index eased from 26 to 24, and the future capital expenditures index also edged lower.
emphasis added

The last regional Fed manufacturing surveys for November will be released next week (the Dallas and Richmond Fed surveys). So far the regional surveys have indicated solid growth in November - suggesting another strong reading for the ISM manufacturing survey - and significant optimism about the future.