by Calculated Risk on 7/26/2018 11:00:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Continued to Expand Solidly

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 continued to expand solidly, and expectations for future growth remained strong.

“Our composite index came down slightly from record highs in recent months,” said Wilkerson. “Many firms remain concerned about labor availability and tariffs, but optimism is still high.”
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The month-over-month composite index was 23 in July, down from readings of 28 in June and 29 in May. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Factory activity increased solidly at durable and nondurable goods plants, particularly for petroleum and coal products, minerals, fabricated metal, computers and electronics, and transportation equipment. Month-over-month indexes were mixed compared with the previous month, but most indexes remained at high levels. The employment index inched up while the order backlog and new orders for exports indexes were virtually unchanged. The production and shipments indexes fell moderately, and the new orders index eased somewhat. The raw materials index fell modestly and the finished goods inventory index also dipped slightly.
emphasis added

All of the regional surveys for July have been solid so far.