Kansas City Fed: Regional Manufacturing Activity Declined Again in July

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Declined Again

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the July 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 declined again in July but less so than in previous months.

“Our headline index was closer to zero than in May or June but was still negative, indicating further contraction in regional factory activity. However, firms expect a modest pickup in activity in coming months.”
...
Tenth District manufacturing activity declined again in July, but less so than in previous months. Producers’ remained slightly optimistic about future activity, although the majority of contacts indicated difficulties finding qualified labor. Most price indexes indicated continued rising prices, but the rate of increase slowed a bit for raw materials.

The month-over-month composite index was -7 in July, up from -9 in June and -13 in May ... the new orders index eased from -3 to -6, and the employment index dropped to its lowest level since April 2009, with many firms noting difficulties finding qualified workers.
emphasis added

Some of this recent decline in the Kansas City region has been due to lower oil prices.