by Calculated Risk on 8/23/2018 11:00:00 AM

From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Expanded at a Slightly Slower Pace

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the August 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 slower pace, while expectations remained solid.

“Our composite index came down a bit again in August,” said Wilkerson. “But the pace of growth in regional factories is still at the solid levels that prevailed in late 2017 and early 2018.”
...
The month-over-month composite index was 14 in August, down from readings of 23 in July and 28 in June. The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Growth in factory activity remained relatively stable at nondurable goods plants, while durable goods activity slowed slightly, particularly for machinery, computers and electronics. Most month-over-month indexes moderated in August, but were still generally solid. The production, new orders, employment, and new orders for exports indexes all decreased modestly. In contrast, the shipments index rose from 12 to 18 after falling considerably last month. The finished goods inventory index dipped slightly, while the raw material inventory index was unchanged.
emphasis added

The regional surveys for August have mostly indicated somewhat slower growth as compared to July.