by Calculated Risk on 12/22/2017 11:00:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Growth Continued at a Solid Pace

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the December 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 continued at a solid pace, and optimism remained high.

“Factories in our region remain upbeat about hiring and capital spending as we head into 2018, following strong growth in recent months,” said Wilkerson.
...
The month-over-month composite index was 14 in December, lower than 16 in November and 23 in October. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Growth in factory activity moderated slightly at both durable and non-durable goods plants, particularly for chemicals and plastics products. Month-over-month indexes were mixed but remained generally solid. The shipments, new orders, and order backlog indexes all decreased somewhat. However, the production index edged up from 15 to 21, and the employment and new orders for exports indexes also rose. The finished goods inventory index dropped from 2 to -11, and the raw materials inventory index also decreased.
emphasis added

So far, all of the regional Fed surveys have been solid in December.