by Calculated Risk on 9/24/2015 11:00:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Declined at a Similar Pace

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the September 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 at a similar pace as in previous months, while expectations for future activity dropped considerably.

“Survey respondents continued to blame a strong dollar and weak energy activity for declining factory activity”, said Wilkerson. “This month their future outlook also weakened after holding steady in recent months.”
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Tenth District manufacturing activity declined at a similar pace as in previous months, while expectations for future activity dropped considerably. Producers continued to cite weak oil and gas activity along with a strong dollar as key reasons for the sluggish activity. Most price indexes fell from the previous survey.

The month-over-month composite index was -8 in September, largely unchanged from -9 in August and -7 in July ... employment index inched up from -10 to -7, and the new orders for exports index also moved slightly higher.
emphasis added

The recent decline in the Kansas City region manufacturing has probably been mostly due to lower oil prices, although respondents also blame the strong dollar.